The Collapse of Florida's Citrus Empire

Sam Knowlton Jun 21, 2025

A Harbinger of Citrus's Worldwide Crisis

Florida's citrus industry, once the crown jewel of American agriculture, has experienced a dramatic decline that serves as a wake up call about the vulnerabilities of industrial monoculture farming. From a peak production of 244 million boxes of oranges in the 1997-98 season, Florida's output has plummeted to a projected 12 million boxes for 2024-25—a 95% decline. This collapse, driven primarily by citrus greening disease (Huanglongbing or HLB) represents one of the most devastating agricultural failures in modern American history. The crisis takes on new dimensions when we understand that decades of soil degradation through chemical-intensive practices created the perfect conditions for disease proliferation.

The Golden Age and Its Hidden Vulnerabilities

At its zenith in the late 1990s, Florida's citrus industry was a marvel of agricultural productivity. The state produced 244 million boxes of oranges in 1998, establishing Florida as the undisputed citrus capital of America. The Commercial Citrus Inventory of 1965 documented 858,082 acres of commercial citrus groves across the state, representing the most intense concentration of citrus production in the world. By 2000-01, Florida was producing 78 percent of total United States citrus, with bearing acreage for oranges, grapefruit, and tangerines totaling 605,000, 108,000, and 42,000 acres respectively.

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