Florida agricultural losses add up following Hurricane Helene

Hurricane Helene, a major storm that made landfall in late September in Taylor County, inflicted up to $162.2 million in agricultural losses in Florida.

The University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, or UF/IFAS, on Tuesday released a report estimating losses from Helene. Helene closely followed the path of Hurricane Debby, which made landfall in August in Taylor County.

Combined, the two storms caused estimated agricultural losses of $134 million to $425 million, according to Tuesday’s report and an earlier UF/IFAS report about Debby.

Helene resulted in an estimated $40.3 million to $162.2 million in losses, with the total expected to be narrowed in the coming months. Debby led to an estimated $93.7 million to $263.2 million in losses.

“There were some things that weren’t in the path or weren’t at risk of Hurricane Helene because they were already damaged by Hurricane Debby,” Christa Court, UF/IFAS economic impact analysis program director, said Tuesday during a conference call with reporters.

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A damage survey showed larger effects from Debby, which was a more rain-intense storm with more flooding than Helene, which moved rapidly through Florida before heading north, Court said.

Court also said some farmers had not replanted between Debby, which made landfall Aug. 5, and Helene, which made landfall Sept. 26.

Hurricane Milton hit the state Oct. 9, making landfall in Sarasota County. Data on the impacts from Milton is still being collected.

During a legislative organization session Tuesday, Senate President Ben Albritton, a Wauchula Republican who is a citrus grower, expressed a need to help farmers, along with homeowners, affected by the storms.

“In the days following hurricanes Helene and Milton, I spent time with several senators whose constituents were catastrophically impacted. The devastation is heartbreaking. Florida agriculture was heavily impacted. And many of our coastal communities suffered from tornadoes, wind and flooding,” Albritton said. “What’s worse is that many of these communities were still recovering from hurricanes Debbie, Idalia and Ian. Be assured, together, we are going to recover, and we are going to rebuild.”

Helene, which made landfall with 140 mph sustained winds, affected more than 6 million acres of agricultural land in Florida, mostly in North Florida’s Big Bend region, with two-thirds of the land used for livestock grazing.

Field and row crops took the biggest financial hit, with estimated losses between $12.76 million and $48.16 million, followed by losses in livestock and animal production between $11.79 million and $44.4 million.

Vegetable and melon production sustained $10.47 million to $38.22 million in losses and greenhouses and nurseries received $2.16 million to $15 million in losses. Fruit and tree-nut losses were estimated at $3.17 million to $12.13 million.

The UF/IFAS figures are mostly tied to the current growing season and don’t include damage to items such as fertilizer and feed or repairs for damaged and destroyed infrastructure.

While Helene and Debby made landfall in North Florida, Milton cut a path across the central part of the state, which includes the heart of the citrus industry.

Court said Milton data will include losses from tornadoes outside of areas where hurricane-force winds occurred.

Agriculture Commissioner Wilton Simpson has estimated that Milton might have caused between $1.5 billion and $2.5 billion in losses.

Debby affected more than 2.2 million acres of agricultural land in Florida.

As examples of the damage, livestock losses from Debby are estimated between $41.1 million and $98.5 million. Flooding caused field crops to suffer between $19.3 million and $53.1 million in losses. Greenhouses and nurseries had up to $53.6 million in losses, including from power outages that hindered cooling and irrigation.

Debby interrupted the planting schedule for vegetables, melons and potatoes and resulted in $12.1 million to $32.1 million in anticipated losses.