BARTOW, Fla.\u00a0<\/strong>\u2013 This season\u2019s Florida Orange and Grapefruit crops increased over last month\u2019s estimate, according to projections released Tuesday by the\u00a0National Agricultural Statistics Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Florida Orange crop is projected to produce\u00a081.1 million boxes this season, an increase of 5.1 million boxes, according to the\u00a0report, while the Florida Grapefruit crop increased by 150,000 boxes to 10.85 million boxes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cToday\u2019s forecast brings a little more sunshine to our sunshine state,\u201d said Shannon Shepp, executive director of the Florida Department of Citrus. \u201cWe are glad to see the numbers go up for our growers who continue to produce high-quality, premium citrus in the face of one of the toughest challenges to hit our industry. We remain dedicated to supporting their hard work and educating consumers on the great taste, nutritional benefits and safety of Florida Citrus.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n About the Florida Department of Citrus<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The Florida Department of Citrus is an executive agency of Florida government charged with the marketing, research and regulation of the Florida citrus industry.\u00a0 Its activities are funded by a tax paid by growers on each box of citrus that moves through commercial channels.\u00a0 The industry employs nearly 62,000 people, provides an annual economic impact of nearly $10.7 billion to the state, and contributes hundreds of millions of dollars in tax revenues that help support Florida\u2019s schools, roads and health care services. For more information about the Florida Department of Citrus, please visit\u00a0FloridaCitrus.org<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Florida is expected to produce 81.1 million boxes of Oranges, 10.85 million boxes of Grapefruit BARTOW, Fla.\u00a0\u2013 This season\u2019s Florida Orange and Grapefruit crops increased over last month\u2019s estimate, according […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":189,"template":"","fdoc_news_item_category":[105,100,101],"fdoc_citrus_type":[110,107],"fdoc_health_category":[],"class_list":["post-191","fdoc-news-item","type-fdoc-news-item","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","fdoc_news_item_category-crop-forecasts","fdoc_news_item_category-industry","fdoc_news_item_category-orange-production","fdoc_citrus_type-grapefruit","fdoc_citrus_type-orange"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t