In 1996, Publix founder Jenkins dies at age 89. “I met Publix founder George Jenkins back in the early 1970s,” recalls Collier Tomato’s Mott. “He was a real leader in the supermarket industry.”
For the 1996-97 season, there are 3.2 million navel orange bearing trees (up 90,000 since Huricane Andrew), 38.2 million Valencia orange trees (up an astonishing 11.9 million), 5.2 million white seedless grapefruit trees (up 1 million), and 8.7 million colored seedless grapefruit trees (up 2.7 million) throughout the state.
Medflies are again discovered, in 1997 in Hillsborough County, with the outbreak eventually affecting hundreds of square miles and multiple counties. Aerial treatments and the release of billions of sterile Medflies helps eradicate the pest again. The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS) begins funding an ongoing sterile release program to prevent future infestations.
Florida reaches a new peak for citrus, selling 244 million boxes of oranges during the 1997-98 season. “After 1998, that’s when we really started to see a bit of a decline,” recalls Seald Sweet’s Flores.
“It became harder and harder for growers to maintain profitability, and real estate became more lucrative in Florida, so a lot of growers started selling off their land.”
In 1998, the 65-year-old Florida’s Natural cooperative changes its name to Florida’s Natural Growers.
Part III coming 11/14
