Ambar Ramirez
Words by Ambar Ramirez
Long before Disney and beach resorts, Florida’s golden reputation came from something simpler, sweeter and stickier: citrus. For generations, oranges, grapefruits and lemons defined the state’s economy and spirit. Today, Florida’s citrus groves are dwindling — and with them, a major part of the state’s soul. Amid growing threats, nonprofit Saving Florida’s Citrus Groves has emerged as a grassroots force determined to rescue what’s left before it’s too late.
“When I founded the Save Florida Citrus Groves Foundation, Inc., I had one thing on my mind at the time and that was to save the legacy of the Florida orange and the beautiful, fragrant groves they are cultivated in. There is no other nonprofit that served this purpose in terms of advocating with facts for struggling small, family-owned citrus farms, providing economic grants through donations, or organizing volunteers,” share Adrian Bryce, founder and president of Save Florida Citrus Groves Inc. “Due to the fact that state organizations are doing the opposite to help the backbone of Florida’s citrus industry, I took it upon myself and did extensive legal research and investigations. I discovered that all of the very organizations (Florida Department of Citrus, Florida Citrus Commission, and Florida Citrus Mutual) that were originally formed and tasked with the very notion of helping small citrus farmers were, in fact, not at all helping small citrus growers. Their main focus has been and continues to be on large producers.”
Growing up in the Sunshine State, you’d think my childhood would be filled with memories of running through citrus groves, picking oranges straight from the trees, visiting family farms. But the only memory I have is of a single lemon tree that grew in the middle of a cracked concrete parking lot outside my grandma’s apartment. Most weekends, we’d visit her, grab a basket, and pick lemons when they were ripe and heavy with bloom in the spring and summer. Then one day, the tree was gone — and just like that, the memories tied to it disappeared too. It’s a small thing, I know. But on a much larger scale, the story isn’t all that different to what’s happening to groves across the state.
Bryce shared that there are numerous legal complexities surrounding these situations, but the simplest way to explain it is that funds often fail to reach their intended allocations, and a trifecta class action lawsuit would be a fitting course of action.
According to legal advisers, if small citrus farmers were to file such a lawsuit, they would have only about a 10% chance of losing, given the strong, documented claims against all three entities involved. This reality points directly to leadership as the root cause of Florida’s citrus industry’s decline.
Experts argue that citrus greening, while damaging, is not the primary factor. The disease, spread by an insect first identified in 1929, did not significantly impact Florida’s groves until 2005. This timing coincides with the U.S. housing boom, which peaked in 2006, followed by a deep recession in 2009. Since citrus greening can kill a tree within a few years, the resulting vacant land created opportunities during the housing boom.
“I do find that odd. But here we are in 2025 and look at all these shiny new real estate deals replacing citrus groves that have been sold because they can no longer afford to operate them,” Bryce added. “The industry as a whole has changed; fresh orange juice isn’t nearly advertised as it once was. But the Florida Department of Citrus spends millions on international marketing of orange juice for the state’s biggest producers (i.e. Tropicana/Alico). Where has that gotten them? Not very far. Florida orange juice is homegrown — literally. Why aren’t we marketing it to Americans that way? It worked during the 1950s, and it would work now. The marketing needs to be tweaked to reflect our new generation of beverages. The possibilities really are endless. Especially when you have a budget of millions to work with and no oversight on how it’s spent. But that’s likely why we are where we are.”
The smaller, family-owned citrus groves and farmers are getting hit the hardest. While the Florida Department of Citrus keeps collecting state-allocated funds and tax dollars on their behalf, what they don’t mention is that Tropicana executives sit on the Florida Citrus Commission’s (FCC) board — and not a single small citrus grower does. It makes it a whole lot harder for the little guys to raise money, while the big players just have to spin around in their office chairs and ask for more.
“Unfortunately, these state-allocated funds and tax dollars, nor do the contributions and donations to board members and lawmakers received, ever trickle down to the small, family-owned citrus groves that are begging the state for help. These citrus farmers pay a “box tax” and membership dues only to be underrepresented or not represented at all,” Bryce explained. “Without these legendary groves and the small growers that maintain them, Floridians will have lost a piece of history forever. And this is history that cannot be replaced. This is exactly what we want to advocate for and what we are striving to reverse,” he said.
And, of course, there’s more happening beneath the surface. It’s not just the supposed lack of money taking out these groves or the fact that they’re being replaced by more homes and endless concrete, that should worry people. It’s the way these big corporations and citrus commission boards are pretending not to know — or maybe just don’t care — about the role these citrus farms play in helping to mitigate climate change.
“While many associate citrus groves with oranges and juice, their economic impact extends far beyond direct fruit sales. Most people don’t realize that Florida’s citrus groves act as significant carbon sinks, absorbing CO2 and helping mitigate climate change. These groves can act as ecological corridors in Florida’s increasingly fragmented landscapes,” Bryce shared. “ The loss of citrus groves would cripple rural economies and the collapse of citrus would disrupt related industries. Small, family-owned groves, which are our main focus, are vital in these areas. Without targeted support, their disappearance would erode local spending, causing businesses like grocery stores and mechanic shops to shutter. The disappearance of citrus groves would dismantle rural Florida’s cultural identity. Without local citrus, Florida would rely on imports from Brazil or Mexico, which is the direction we’re headed.”
While Save Florida Citrus Groves Inc. centers a lot of its research on getting to the root of the problem, they’re still a non-profit that relies on volunteers to make a difference. The Gift-a-Grove initiative is just one way to get involved with this organization. If you own a citrus grove in Florida and want an easy way to donate it — while also receiving tax benefits and removing the burden of upkeep — you can gift it to the Save Florida Citrus Groves Foundation through their Gift-A-Grove Initiative. This ensures your grove will be protected and restored, rather than lost forever to commercial or residential development.
“Visit us online at savefloridacitrus.org. Here, you can sign-up to become a volunteer, contribute so that we can continue to issue grants to small citrus farmers, and maybe, most importantly, take the time to read the fact-based articles on our site to get the full picture of Florida’s citrus industry. You’ll be quite surprised by what you discover,” Bryce said. “The truth is that the Florida Department of Citrus, Florida Citrus Commission and Florida Citrus Mutual, have all failed at their mission by choosing large donations, excessive lobbying and cronyism over helping the very families who boosted Florida’s citrus industry in the first place.”
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