Author Topic: Where Has All The Oranges Gone  (Read 2555 times)

Millet

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Where Has All The Oranges Gone
« on: January 04, 2017, 11:17:42 AM »
Once upon a time, 1994, to be precise, the USDA's National Agricultural Statistics Service counted 48,221 acres of citrus acreage in Martin County Florida, most of it in oranges. Now the USDA estimates there's about 2,700 acres left, and most of that — maybe all of it — will go out of production this year leaving 0 aces in 2018 because of Citrus Greening. .

Central Floridave

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Re: Where Has All The Oranges Gone
« Reply #1 on: January 04, 2017, 01:20:01 PM »
Citrus greening may be some of the reason but property values are rising.  Martin County is the next county up from Palm Beach County where...good luck affording any citrus acreage in that county!   Martin County is a little bit more rural than Palm Beach but just as nice.   Every time I go down there (my sister use to live there) there are new housing developments and shopping malls. 


35ppt

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Re: Where Has All The Oranges Gone
« Reply #2 on: January 04, 2017, 04:30:36 PM »
It makes me so sad to see that farmable land being paved over.
Even before HLB, there have been pest/disease issues that made groves shut down, and IIRC they were even trying to cut down trees on private land to control pest/disease.

mrtexas

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Re: Where Has All The Oranges Gone
« Reply #3 on: January 04, 2017, 06:45:41 PM »
Try orange free Smog County in Southern California.
Not an orange grove in sight.

luak

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Re: Where Has All The Oranges Gone
« Reply #4 on: January 04, 2017, 09:07:14 PM »
Millet, i did not take them, i got the smallest citrus variety on this forum but i might have the largest Asian type persimmons tree's growing, pretty good stuff. I use to have about a dozen different varieties, now down to four, about 30 tree's.It is more than enough.


Cyan

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Re: Where Has All The Oranges Gone
« Reply #5 on: March 31, 2017, 02:34:15 AM »
I was talking to someone who remembered smelling lemon blossoms while driving through southern California as a child.  I don't think that's as easy to find now. We were advised against buying a citrus orchard because of the uncertainty of being able to afford the water, because the citrus would not bring in enough to pay for its own water in southern California.   As well as development, water is a key factor here.  We are planting citrus, but most of it is unusual varieties. 8)

spaugh

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Re: Where Has All The Oranges Gone
« Reply #6 on: April 10, 2017, 12:42:56 PM »
I was talking to someone who remembered smelling lemon blossoms while driving through southern California as a child.  I don't think that's as easy to find now. We were advised against buying a citrus orchard because of the uncertainty of being able to afford the water, because the citrus would not bring in enough to pay for its own water in southern California.   As well as development, water is a key factor here.  We are planting citrus, but most of it is unusual varieties. 8)

You need to find a grove with a well.  There were nice deals a few years back.  Looked at a few properties with wells, solar powered,  nice house, 1000 citrus/avocados on 5+ acres.  $400,000
Brad Spaugh

DFWCitrus

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Re: Where Has All The Oranges Gone
« Reply #7 on: April 10, 2017, 05:49:58 PM »
The lower and San Joaquin Valley in California and other valley areas actually have greatly expanded into citrus, mostly mandarins, hence where Cuties and Halos come from. A lot of the market went south into Mexico where they have developed new citrus groves, especially grapefruit and oranges.