Florida will oversee $675.9 million in federal money to help the state’s agriculture industry recover from hurricane damage in 2023 and 2024.
U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins traveled to CPI citrus groves in Hendry County on Monday to announce a block-grant agreement with the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.
The money is expected to go toward infrastructure, citrus and timber losses, along with direct market losses, from Hurricane Idalia in 2023 and hurricanes Debby, Helene, and Milton in 2024.
“Florida’s producers have endured back-to-back devastating hurricane seasons, and this funding is a major victory that will help them rebuild, recover and continue feeding our state and nation,” Florida Agriculture Commissioner Wilton Simpson said in a prepared statement.
The citrus industry recently wrapped up its 2024-2025 growing season with the lowest production in more than a century, primarily because of hurricane damage and decades of destruction by citrus greening disease.
“From citrus greening to hurricanes, our industry has faced unprecedented challenges,” Florida Citrus Mutual President Kevin Koppleman said in a statement. “We remain committed to rebuilding a resilient, sustainable future for Florida citrus.”
The block grant money comes from the $30 billion American Relief Act, 2025, which was signed by then-President Joe Biden on December 21.
A news release from the U.S. Department of Agriculture said the agency worked with 14 states, including Florida, to design the block grants.
“America’s farmers and ranchers across the Southeast and in Florida have been hit hard and suffered significant economic losses during the last two hurricane seasons,” Rollins said in a statement.