A UF/IFAS Economic Impact Analysis Program (EIAP) report released Friday estimates Hurricane Milton caused between $190.4 million and $642.7 million in agricultural production losses in Florida.
According to the preliminary report, the information is based on data from surveys that UF/IFAS distributed to producers.
According to the National Weather Service, Milton, a Category storm, made landfall in Florida on Oct. 9 near Siesta Key about 70 miles south of Tampa. The storm generated significant tornado activity between Oct. 6 and Oct. 12 and its winds impacted 14 Florida counties: Brevard, Charlotte, DeSota, Hardee, Highlands, Hillsborough, Manatee, Orange, Osceola, Pinellas, Polk, Sarasota, Seminole and Volusia.
Milton also affected an additional 43 Florida counties with tropical storm force winds, with rainfall concentrated in the central and western regions of the state. Some southwestern areas had rainfall totals over 18 inches between Oct. 6 and Oct. 12.
More than 5.7 million acres of agricultural land were affected in Florida on property that collectively produces around $8.6 billion in products over multiple growing seasons each year, according to the EIAP, with 68% of the affected land used for animal grazing.
“Milton resulted in higher agricultural losses than Hurricane Helene, not only because it caused more intense weather conditions overall, but also because areas producing high-value commodities experienced higher-intensity weather conditions,” said Xiaohui Qiao, EIAP research assistant professor, in the press release.
Milton was the third major storm to hit Florida since August, with Hurricane Debby, a Category 1 storm, impacting 2.2 million acres of agricultural land resulting in production losses of around $170 million.
Hurricane Helene, a Category 4 storm, made landfall on Sept. 26 near Perry and brought tropical-storm-force winds to 55 of Florida’s 67 counties and hurricane conditions to eight others: Dixie, Hamilton, Jefferson, Lafayette, Madison, Suwannee, Taylor and Wakulla. It caused between $40.3 to $162.2 million in damage to Florida’s agricultural production.
“We had to do some quick thinking and make adjustments to both the data and the methods that we used for our Hurricane Milton analysis to account for the quick succession of Hurricanes Helene and Milton as well as the tornado outbreak that accompanied Hurricane Milton,” said Christa Court, UF/IFAS EIAP director, in the press release.
According to Friday’s EIAP, the low and high estimates of production losses in the current growing or marketing season for the commodity groups that experienced the highest losses include:
- Vegetables, melons and potatoes: $52.5 million (low); $233 million (high)
- Greenhouse, nursery: $66.9 million (low); $177 million (high)
- Animals and animal products: $29.4 million (low); $86.5 million (high)
Economists will continue to collect data related to Milton through 2025. The information supplied will be used in the final report, expected in the first quarter of 2025.
Report impacts from Milton and access the economists’ preliminary report on the UF/IFAS EIAP website.
