The suspicions and fears of even the most hopeful in the Florida ag sector came to a head this month with the announcement that Alico is pulling out of the citrus industry. The company, one of the largest growers in the nation and a major supplier to Tropicana, said the combination of citrus greening and hurricanes led it “to conclude that growing citrus is no longer economically viable for us in Florida.”
Alico and citrus are an integral part of my family’s legacy. But in 1997, I broke away from the Ben Hill Griffin citrus business to blaze my own trail. That’s when I started Labor Solutions and stopped acquiring citrus groves. In retrospect, that may have been the best decision I ever made.
For many, Alico’s announcement confirmed what we’ve all feared: The citrus industry as a whole is teetering on the brink of collapse, if it’s not already. One of the saddest truths proven by Alico’s move is that the real value is in the land.
Regrettably, we’ve seen rapid development through not only Polk County but statewide. The land value is where the wealth is. Without citrus thriving, the land becomes an albatross for growers who are stuck paying taxes on land that doesn’t produce.
That’s one of the reasons I’ve been such a staunch advocate of finding alternative uses for former citrus land. When I started F1 Meats in Frostproof, I took an old grove I had and repurposed it.
Alico’s announcement is truly telling, and my grandfather and the others who gave birth to and paved the way for citrus in Florida would be beside themselves over how the industry is now disintegrating.
So, is this the moment of reckoning? Will there be others who look at this decision and give up? I’d venture to say yes.
If a company like Alico can’t make it work with their knowledgeable experts who have access to scientific communities to make business decisions and their economy of scale, then the little growers don’t stand a chance.
Displacement of an entire industry is difficult to concede as it is, let alone when it’s replaced by new rooftops that lead to more demand on our natural resources, schools, roads, and first responders.
