Florida Archives - Grainews

Jeff Schorner poses for a photo next to his business, Al’s Family Farms, which he lost during Hurricane Milton, in Lakewood Park, near Fort Pierce, in St. Lucie County, Florida, U.S., October 11, 2024. REUTERS/Jose Luis Gonzalez

Hurricane Milton caused $1.5-$2.5 billion in losses to Florida agriculture

By Karl Plume, Reuters October 17, 2024

Hurricane Milton caused an estimated $1.5 billion to $2.5 billion (C$2.1 billion to $3.4 billion) in damage to Florida's crops and agricultural infrastructure, according to a preliminary assessment released by the state's Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services on Thursday.

ICE November 2023 FCOJ with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages. (Barchart)

Crops, Fruit/Vegetables, Markets, Reuters

Orange juice prices near all-time high as storm hits Florida

Crop was already expected to be small

By GFM Network News August 31, 2023

New York | Reuters — Orange juice prices at the Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) rose more than three per cent on Wednesday, heading back toward an all-time high hit earlier this month, as storm Idalia slammed parts of main U.S. orange producer Florida. Contracts for frozen concentrated orange juice (FCOJ) at ICE hit a high of […] Read more

After Hurricane Ian made landfall in southwestern Florida, a street sign lies in flood waters at Punta Gorda, about 40 km north of Fort Myers, on Sept. 29, 2022. (Photo: Reuters/Shannon Stapleton)

Beef Cattle, Livestock, Reuters, Weather

Florida farmers scramble to reach cattle after Hurricane Ian

By Tom Polansek, GFM Network News September 29, 2022

Chicago | Reuters — Farmers in Florida rushed to reach their cattle on Thursday after trees downed by Hurricane Ian broke fences used to contain the animals and rain from the fierce storm flooded fields used for grazing. One of the mightiest storms to hit the U.S. mainland in recent years, Ian flooded communities on […] Read more

Crops, Fruit/Vegetables, Reuters, Weather

Hurricane Ian to worsen bleak outlook for U.S. orange juice industry

By GFM Network News September 29, 2022

New York | Reuters — Hurricane Ian is likely to have worsened what was already expected to be the smallest U.S. orange crop in 55 years after it blasted through a large fruit producing area when it passed through Florida this week, flooding farms and causing oranges to drop from trees. Precise information on losses […] Read more

Crops, Reuters, Weather

Mosaic to cut fertilizer production as weather dampens demand

By Reuters, GFM Network News December 19, 2019

Reuters — Mosaic Co. said Thursday it will reduce fertilizer production until market conditions improve, as a difficult harvest season in North America has led to reduced fertilizer usage. Agricultural companies’ profits have been hammered this year due to an unusually cold and wet weather that has delayed planting season in North America, and lower […] Read more

Cattle graze at a military base in Florida. (Wirepec/iStock/Getty Images)

Beef Cattle, Livestock, Reuters

Florida finds atypical BSE case

By GFM Network News August 30, 2018

Chicago | Reuters — A six-year-old beef cow in Florida tested positive for bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), the U.S. Department of Agriculture said on Wednesday. The animal tested positive for atypical H-type BSE on Aug. 26 at the Colorado State University’s veterinary diagnostic laboratory, as part of routine surveillance of cattle that are found to […] Read more

General, Reuters, Weather

Irma whips orange trees, shuts meat plants

By GFM Network News September 11, 2017

Chicago | Reuters — Hurricane Irma stripped oranges from trees and prompted Tyson Foods to shut meat plants in Florida and Georgia on Monday to keep workers safe. Tyson, the biggest U.S. meat company, hopes to resume normal operations soon at chicken plants it shuttered in Cumming, Dawson and Vienna, Ga., and at a beef […] Read more

General, Reuters, Weather

From sugar mills to hog farms, U.S. agriculture braces for Irma

By GFM Network News September 7, 2017

Chicago/New York | Reuters — Hurricane Irma sent farmers and food companies scrambling to protect processing facilities, farm fields and animal herds in the south and southeastern parts of the U.S. on Wednesday. Florida sugar and citrus processors rushed to secure rail cars and equipment that could be crushed, blocked or turned into flying projectiles. […] Read more

A satellite view of Hurricane Matthew at about 1 p.m. ET on Oct. 6, as the hurricane regained Category 4 status. (NASA/NOAA GOES Project)

Crops, Fruit/Vegetables, Reuters, Weather

U.S. farmers race to ready for Hurricane Matthew’s blast

By GFM Network News October 6, 2016

New York | Reuters — Hurricane Matthew, the fiercest Caribbean storm in nearly a decade, roiled commodities markets and forced companies from cane refiners to orange juice makers to shutter as it whipped its way toward the southeastern U.S. on Thursday. Southeastern companies were closing down operations ahead of a storm that could threaten some […] Read more

Mosaic Co. said its staff at Mulberry, Fla. are using this on-site 800-foot-deep ground water well to recover water lost from the sinkhole formation at their phosphate facility. (MosaicCo.com)

Crops, Reuters

Sinkhole at Mosaic fertilizer site leaks radioactive water

By Rod Nickel, GFM Network News September 17, 2016

Reuters — A sinkhole spanning 45 feet in diameter opened at a Mosaic Co. phosphate fertilizer facility in Florida, leaking 215 million gallons of “slightly radioactive water,” a company spokesman said Friday. Mosaic said the monitoring system at its New Wales facility at Mulberry, Florida, showed a decline in water levels on Aug. 27 from […] Read more

Alberta crop conditions improve: report

U.S. grains: Corn sets contract lows on expectations for big US crop

U.S. livestock: Cattle strength continues

GFM Network News