Final Report: Hurricane Ian Effects on Florida Ag Add up to $1 Billion

Posted by Paul Rusnak|February 11, 2023

When a storm the likes of Hurricane Ian strikes, it takes time to truly assess and count up all the damages. University of Florida economists have been hard at work for months determining the economic impact on the state’s ag sector. Their final report shows the price tag at $1.03 billion.

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Major Hurricane Ian, with sustained winds of up to 155 mph, closed in on and made landfall in Florida on Sept. 28, 2022. The storm impacted the peninsula from coast to coast.
Image courtesy of NOAA
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Florida's citrus belt was in the direct path of Hurricane Ian. First looks showed copious fruit drop in some groves.
Photo by Gene McAvoy via Twitter
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Significant fruit drop being seen in groves around Southwest Florida harken back to five years ago after major Hurricane Irma moved through.
Photo by Gene McAvoy via Twitter
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For fruit that didn't fall, it's only a matter of time given the twisting and turning action doled out by Hurricane Ian's winds.
Photo by Gene McAvoy via Twitter
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Uprooted orange trees and irrigation lines are being seen in some Southwest Florida citrus groves in the wake of Hurricane Ian.
Photo by Gene McAvoy via Twitter
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Several weeks after Hurricane Ian, signs of the storm and its strain on Florida citrus crops remain.
Photo by Gene McAvoy via Twitter
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Overall citrus grove damage from Hurricane Ian was extensive throughout Southwest Florida.

Photo courtesy of UF/IFAS
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Not only crops were impacted by Hurricane Ian on Florida farms. This ag worker housing unit in Charlotte County, FL, was left pummeled by the storm.
Photo by Gene McAvoy via Twitter
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Structural and equipment damages will be among the many issues for Florida growers digging out from Hurricane Ian.
Photo by Gene McAvoy via Twitter
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Portions of Central Florida received in excess of 20 inches of rainfall, thanks to the storm. Some parts of region remain flooded weeks after the storm.

Photo courtesy of St. Johns River Water Management District

A few weeks after the strong Category 4 storm plowed its way across the Sunshine State, UF/IFAS released its initial damage estimate valued between $787 million and $1.56 billion. Since then, more data and feedback from farmers in the field helped narrow the total.

The number is an estimate of the total value of seasonal crops, livestock, nursery and aquaculture products that will not be harvested or marketed as a result the storm, according to UF/IFAS.

The latest report breaks down the $1.03 billion in final estimated losses by commodity group:

Citrus: $247.1 million
Vegetables and melons: $204.6 million
Greenhouse and nursery: $195.4 million
Non-citrus fruit: $137.7 million
Field and row crops: $130.2 million
Livestock and animal products: $119.8 million

The five counties with the greatest agricultural losses include:

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Manatee: $126.4 million
Hillsborough: $104.4 million
Palm Beach: $88.8 million
Hardee: $72.5 million
Hendry: $72 million

A portion of the $1.03 billion loss estimate might be offset by insurance or other risk management tools available to producers, says Christa Court, Director of the UF/IFAS Economic Impact Analysis Program.

“For example, if a grower was expecting to harvest $10 million in crops this year and the storm destroyed $6 million worth, we report a $6 million loss,” she explains. “That farmer might recoup some of that through insurance, but we don’t have a good way of accounting for that in our estimates.”

Some damages are more difficult to pinpoint, Court adds. For example, costs associated with asset damages or production losses that might occur in future seasons.

“We are not able to measure things such as the cost of repairing or replacing damaged structures or equipment, replanting perennial crops, or replacing livestock,” Court says.

In addition to Hurricane Ian, impacts on Florida agriculture have been further exacerbated by Hurricane Nicole, which struck the state in early November. And on top of that the freeze event in December.

“Our survey only covered damages and losses from Hurricane Ian, so this report is not a view of the total impact to agricultural production of all 2022 events that have impacted the sector,” Court says.

To access and read the final report titled “Estimated Agricultural Losses from Hurricane Ian,” visit fred.ifas.ufl.edu.

Paul Rusnak is the Senior Online Editor of American Vegetable Grower, American Fruit Grower, and Greenhouse Grower magazines, all Meister Media Worldwide brands. He is based in Northeast Florida. See all author stories here.