Florida Most Citrus Acres and Baltimore Bridge Impact on Agriculture
From the Ag Information Network, this is your Agribusiness Update.
**As part of its recently published Florida Citrus Statistics for 2022-23, the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services reports Florida’s citrus acreage at over 332,000 acres, down 11% from the prior season.
www.citrusindustry.net reports although Florida’s citrus bearing acreage has tumbled 50% since 2005, the Sunshine State still has the most in the United States at over 298,000 acres, compared to California’s 267,000 acres.
www.citrusindustry.net/2024/03/29/florida-citrus-acreage-tops-united-states/?fref=413f508d-d5f0-4661-a017-742c49b6c924&em=YmxhcnNvbkBhZ2luZm8ubmV0&utm_campaign=Citrus+Industry+This+Week+4-2-2024
**The Purdue University/CME Group Ag Economy Barometer shows an improved outlook for U.S. farmers in March with an index of 114, a three-point increase over February.
While the Index of Current Conditions fell two points to 101, the Index of Future Expectations climbed five points to 120.
The difference was linked to farmers’ perceptions of a financial downturn over the past year, coupled with expectations for improvement over the next 12 months.
**The container ship that recently slammed into Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge caused the structure’s collapse and six deaths, but the American Farm Bureau says there WILL ALSO BE an impact on American agriculture.
In 2023, over 605,000 metric tons of agricultural products were exported from Baltimore, corresponding to nearly $650 million in value.
This equates to 0.3 percent of total ag exports by volume and 0.4 percent by value.
