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Latest Citrus Crop Report Less Than Appealing

Florida growers continue to expect one of the worst citrus crops in decades, thanks largely to citrus greening.
Florida growers continue to expect one of the worst citrus crops in decades, thanks largely to citrus greening.

Florida’s iconic citrus industry remains on path for one of the worst growing seasons in decades, according to the latest orange crop reports.

Florida growers continue to expect one of the worst citrus crops in decades, thanks largely to citrus greening.
Florida growers continue to expect one of the worst citrus crops in decades, thanks largely to citrus greening.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s latest forecast is for 71 million, 90-pound boxes. That’s down slightly from the 72 million boxes projected in November and December.

But it’s up slightly from initial projections earlier this year.

Overall, the 2016-2017 season is substantially below the nearly 82 million boxes from the year before.

Before citrus greening decimated the state, growers hit a high of 244 million boxes in 1997-1998.

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Jim Ash is a reporter at WFSU-FM. A Miami native, he is an award-winning journalist with more than 20 years of experience, most of it in print. He has been a member of the Florida Capital Press Corps since 1992.