http://www.news-journalonline.com/business/local-business/2012/03/19/local-citrus-farmers-thankful-for-mild-winter-high-demand.html

Local citrus farmers thankful for mild winter, high demand
By TOM KNOX, Business Writer send an email to tom.knox@news-jrnl.com
March 19, 2012 12:05 AM


A Heller Bros. worker picks Hamlin oranges in one of the many citrus groves at
Ricamar Farms in Pierson in January of this year. (N-J file | Sean McNeil)

Local citrus farmers Steve Crump and Tony Lombardy were rightfully nervous about cold temperatures as winter approached at the end of last year.

After two chilly winters, the men whose respective farms are in DeLeon Springs and Pierson, worried what below-freezing temperatures could do to their crops. Greening, a disease first discovered in Florida in 2005, is already plaguing the fruit trees and lowering yields.

Another cold winter could have caused a big problem for the citrus industry in Volusia County, which is already a shell of its former self. But, with the spring season just a day away, the farmers can exhale.

"It was extraordinarily good compared to previous years," said Lombardy, who moved to Pierson in 2004 to run his farm, known as Ricamar Farms. "It's the second-highest prices I've had. People are still amazed at the prices."

Processors are paying him about $2 per pound solid of oranges.

Local citrus growers also benefited from fears of fungicide-tainted juice from Brazil and other countries, leading to more domestic purchases, too, Crump said.

Crump, a fourth-generation grower at Vo-LaSalle Farms in DeLeon Springs, said the season was going well with few freeze night temperatures until an unexpected drop in the mercury happened.

"I really liked this winter, up until three weeks ago," Crump said. "It was beautiful. It was wonderful. But it just kind of hit you in the mouth there, a sucker punch."

A cold snap in late February - the low temperature was forecast at 29 degrees but was actually 25 degrees - killed 100 of his vulnerable, recently planted orange trees. The mild weather before the cold snap had caused the young trees to sprout early and exposed them to cold temperatures, but their deaths won't affect this year's yield because the young trees weren't expected to contribute fruit this year.

While this winter has been warmer than in the recent past, both farmers are still worried about the generally high price of orange juice to consumers. Orange juice consumption has been on decline in the U.S. since the late 1980s, although globally the demand is picking up.

"Spikes in price are always worrisome," Lombardy said. "People start drinking something else and change their habits."

Crump added: "That's the concern now. If it's too expensive, no one will be able to afford it."

Grapefruit and Valencia oranges are the next citrus crops on the horizon for the farmers this spring.