TALLAHASSEE – Hurricane Ian inflicted an approximated $1.18 billion to $1.9 billion in damage to Florida’s agriculture field as the storm tore by groves, fields, and ranches final thirty day period in Southwest Florida and Central Florida.
In accordance to a preliminary report from the state’s Division of Agriculture and Customer Providers, the over-all estimate incorporated $417 million to $675 million in injury to the state’s presently-declining citrus industry.
Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried reported the report is the initially action in securing federal disaster aid.
“We will keep on our shut collaboration on the ground with sector associates to acquire additional perception into the depth and breadth of Ian’s hurt,” Fried mentioned in a statement.
The report stated 154,846 of the state’s 375,302 acres of citrus had been hit by Class 4-power winds in the storm, which designed landfall Sept. 28 in Lee and Charlotte counties. An more 49,449 acres seasoned Group 3 winds.
In the meantime, ranches sustained $337 million to $492 million in destruction. The report stated about 250 animals, generally dairy cows, ended up killed by the storm, whilst an believed 257,194 calves awaiting to be delivered to out-of-condition feedlots continue to be in stress filled ailments.
Non-citrus fruit and vegetable crops sustained losses of $153 million to $230 million, although discipline crops which include sugarcane sustained $86 million to $160 million in estimated losses. Horticultural crops sustained $153 million to $297 million in losses.
In 2017, Hurricane Irma, which manufactured landfall in the Florida Keys and then moved up the state, inflicted an approximated $2.5 billion in agriculture losses, together with $761 million in the citrus field.
Monday’s report arrived soon after the College of Florida-Institute of Foodstuff and Agricultural Sciences past week approximated sector losses at $786.6 million to $1.56 billion from Ian.
