Hurricane Ian estimated agriculture damage tops $1 billion.

Hurricane Ian damaged Florida’s agriculture business by $1.07 billion, with citrus, vegetable, and horticulture growers suffering the most.

Citrus growers believe the assessment underestimates hurricane damage.

According to a recent article from Florida Weekly, The University of Florida-Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences analysis will refine preliminary estimates given days after the fatal Category 4 storm slammed Southwest Florida on Sept. 28 and spanned the state.

Last week, Christa Court, director of the UF/IFAS Economic Impact Analysis Program, told the Senate Agriculture Committee that producers have helped researchers understand field events since the initial estimates were provided in early October.

Climate-related calamities are the worst for agriculture. Court stated agriculture is seasonal. “So, we really have to pay attention to what was in the field at the time of the accident we’re looking at. What stage?â€

Fruit and vegetable damage will be quantified by UF scientists using AI.

At his Southwest Florida Research and Education Center lab, UF/IFAS scientist Yiannis Ampatzidis developed Agroview and AgroSense. His latest endeavor is a computer model to count damaged or dead crops using his expertise.

The National Institute of Food and Agriculture gave him roughly $300,000 to use Agroview and AgroSense during extreme weather.

Agroview uses aerial and ground photos to assess fruit-tree height, canopy size, leaf density, health, and fruit number.

Citrus damages will be $247 million, horticultural crops $227 million, vegetables and melons $204.6 million, non-citrus fruits and tree nuts $137.7 million, field and row crops $130 million, and cattle and animal goods $122.7 million, according to the institute.

The citrus industry has fought for two decades with deadly citrus-greening disease, Florida’s residential and commercial growth, international competition, and changing drinking habits. The hurricane was the latest blow.

The UF institution focused on fruit losses, not tree losses, according to Department of Citrus executive director Shannon Shepp. She said the industry will need $387 million to $635 million in federal subsidies.

Florida’s citrus production is estimated to be about 50% of last year’s, the lowest since 1929-1930.

Court noted that many growers won’t notice the impact until crops are in.

Court said the increased estimate will include agricultural damage from winter freezes.

UF assessed industrial losses at $786.6 million to $1.56 billion. It projected citrus losses at $146.9–$304.3 million.

Grazing occupies 63% of the storm-damaged agricultural area.