Hurricane Yan caused more than $1 billion worth of agricultural damage, the report said.

TALLAHASSEE, Florida. — According to a new report from the University of Florida, Hurricane Ian caused about $1 billion in damage to agricultural production, with citrus and vegetables and melons producing the most damage.

The UF Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences report also makes no mention of damage to things like buildings and equipment that could increase the economic impact of a Category 4 hurricane that swept through the state in late September.

“These are estimates and some of these crops are not yet at the final harvest stage,” Krista Court, director of the UF/IFAS Economic Impact Analysis Program, said in a conference call on Thursday. “So it may be yet to be seen what actually happens when they get to this final harvest. How accurate are these estimates and could some growers who may have been at the very beginning of the planting season transplant or delay planting and get some of the crop into the ground.”

The report estimated total production losses at $1.03 billion, including $247.1 million for citrus growers, $204.6 million for vegetable and melon growers, and $195.4 million for nurseries and greenhouses.

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The citrus score doesn’t include things like fallen trees, Cort said.

“I guess it usually takes about two or three years for the Grove — from hearing people comment on what happened during Hurricane Irma — to getting back to where it was before the hurricane,” Cort said. “And I know this event was a little less significant in terms of tree loss, again from what I hear from the industry.”

The Citrus Department expects to seek federal assistance ranging from $387 million to $635 million, including trying to recover money related to lost trees.

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Florida is facing its lowest orange harvest since the 1935-1936 season. The USDA on Wednesday released a revised forecast that was 11 percent below the estimate released in January.

The UF report estimated that field and row crops suffered $130.2 million in production losses due to Yang. Producers of non-citrus fruits were affected by $137.7 million, and losses in livestock and animal products amounted to about $120 million.

A couple of weeks after Yang made landfall, the UF Institute initially estimated industry losses at $786.6 billion to $1.56 billion, with citrus losses between $146.9 million and $304.3 million.

The new report says estimated production losses exceeded $100 million in Hillsborough and Manatee counties and ranged from $50 million to $100 million in Polk, Hardy, DeSoto, Highlands, Hendry and Palm Beach counties.

In 2017, Hurricane Irma, which struck the Florida Keys and moved up the state, caused an estimated $2.5 billion in damage to agriculture, including $761 million in the citrus industry.

The court said it was difficult to compare the two hurricanes because university researchers changed the assessment process and Irma affected all but two of Florida’s counties.

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texasstandard.news contributed to this report.

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