October 5, 2017
According to an Oct. 4 report, Florida’s farm families suffered losses in excess of $2.5 billion as a result of Hurricane Irma. The greatest destruction occurred among citrus and ornamental plant operations.
The report, issued by Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam, is a preliminary estimate. “We are likely to see even greater economic losses as we account for loss of future production and the cost to rebuild infrastructure,” Putnam said in a statement.
He pledged that the agency will “do everything within our power to support Florida agriculture as it recovers from Hurricane Irma’s devastation.”
The losses included in the report were computed for various commodity groups. The list of storm-related farm costs includes the following:
- Citrus: $760,816,600
- Beef Cattle: $237,476,562
- Dairy: $11,811,695
- Aquaculture: $36,850,000
- Fruits and Vegetables (excluding citrus): $180,193,096
- Greenhouse, Nursery, and Floriculture: $624,819,895
- Sugar: $382,603,397
- Field crops: $62,747,058
- Forestry: $261,280,000