Agriculture losses associated with Hurricane Milton are estimated to be as much as $642.7 million across the state, according to findings from a new preliminary report published by the University of Florida.

Hurricane Milton Milton impacted more than 5.7 million acres of agricultural land, 68% of which is grazing land, resulting in an estimated range of $190.4 million to $642.7 million in losses across the state, according to the preliminary report published by the UF Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences. A final report will be finalized in early 2025.

Combined with hurricanes Debby and Helene, which also made landfall in Florida in 2024, the agricultural industry experienced an estimated $402.3 million to $975.8 million in losses across the state because of hurricane-related damage this year.

"Across both hurricanes Helene and Milton, if you remember correctly, it was only a few weeks prior to Hurricane Milton that we experienced Hurricane Helene," Associate Professor Christa Court said during a news conference announcing the findings on Friday. "We've not finalized our numbers for Hurricane Helene ahead of doing Hurricane Milton, so we have these low and high scenarios for both storms ... so there still will be some adjustments."

Florida agriculture suffered hundreds of millions in losses from hurricanes in 2024

Sarasota and Manatee were among 14 Florida counties that experienced hurricane-force winds during Milton. Those counties also include Pinellas, Hillsborough, Polk, Brevard, Charlotte, DeSoto, Hardee, Highlands, Orange, Osceola, Seminole, and Volusia. An additional 43 counties also experienced tropical storm-force winds, and there were 46 tornadoes that impacted 17 counties in the state associated with the storm.

Milton is estimated to have had the largest impact on Florida agriculture out of three hurricanes that made landfall in the state in 2024. Category 1 Hurricane Debby caused about $170 million in losses and Category 4 Hurricane Helene is estimated to have caused $40.3 to $162.2 million in losses. Combined, all three hurricanes are believed to have caused between $402.3 million to $975.8 million in losses to Florida's agricultural industry in 2024.

Vegetables, melons and potatoes suffered the highest losses, estimated between $52,506 to $233,156. Greenhouse nurseries suffered between $66,923 and $177,300 in losses, animals and animal products suffered between $29,353 and $86,539 in losses, fruit and tree nuts suffered between $14,610 and $57,675, and citrus suffered between $23,088 and $55,153 in losses.

The storms compare to losses suffered across the state associated with hurricanes in previous years, but Court cautions against direct comparisons because of significant improvements to the methodology used by the university over time.

Category 3 Hurricane Irma caused about $1.3 billion in agricultural losses in 2017, Category 5 Hurricane Michael caused about $138 million in losses in 2018, Category 4 Hurricane Ian caused about $1.035 billion in losses in 2022, and Category 3 Hurricane Idalia caused about $276 million in losses in 2023.

Court emphasized that some portions of the industry have been impacted by multiple storms since last year, which could further hamper recovery from this year's storms.

"Some of the folks that experienced Debby or Helene earlier in the season were still recovering from the impacts of Hurricane Idalia from the previous year ... They are experiencing these compound events at this point, and that may build up over time in terms of how quickly they can recover," she said.

Source - https://www.heraldtribune.com