Kathrine Alderman
ECB Publishing, Inc.
There are many farming families in Jefferson County, whether large or small, and they all are a vital part of our community. One that most people know and love is Florida Georgia Citrus, owned by Kim and Angela Jones.
The company got its start back in 2014 when they planted their first trees. They mostly grow satsumas, but they also produce other citrus fruits such as naval oranges, Hamlin oranges, lemons and Shiranui mandarins. They now have about 3,000 trees in production and will soon plant another 2,000.
In 2016, the company built the packing shed they use to process the fruit and started juicing the fruit as well. Their primary business is in selling what Kim Jones called "round fruit." Which is just to say fresh fruit, but they want to sell the most round fruit possible, anything oblong or out of shape they juice. The juice they then sell at retail.
There are a lot more uses for the juice than you'd think. Of course, there is the juice you bottle and drink, but they also sell it to jelly and syrup manufacturers, to the micro-brewing industry for specialty beers and to people who make soaps, lotions and body products.
Now, there is a slight distinction between what's grown and what's packaged. Technically, though owned by the same people, Florida Georgia Citrus is the packaging company, and Bethel Oaks Farm grows the fruit. Florida Georgia Citrus will package fruit for other farms as well, not just their family farm, but the products they sell are grown by Bethel Oaks Farm.
Citrus farming is a relatively new industry in North Florida. Before, all the citrus was being grown in South Florida. Citrus in North Florida was unheard of until very recently, but the Jones' realized they could do it. They saw the opportunity, and they went with it. Now, there are a few more growers in Jefferson and the surrounding counties that have also taken up growing citrus, though their trees are a bit younger than the Jones' trees.
Right now, there is a disease down south called greening. It has been infecting many orange groves—killing the trees in South Florida—and has really hurt the citrus industry over there. It has yet to spread to North Florida, though it could potentially spread up this way. "We're fortunate not to have it in our groves," Kim Jones said. "We're a little secluded and far away from where all that comes from, so we're able to—so far—not have the disease."
The Jones' started Florida Georgia Citrus, the packing plant, to help justify the farm, Bethel Oaks Farm. As for the farm, they just kept coming back to citrus. They had considered blackberries, blueberries, olives, pecans and many other types of crops, but their kids loved citrus, and they kept coming back to that. They also wanted to be able to teach their kids and grandkids work ethic. In the summers, four generations are working in the field at the same time. "We want to teach our grandkids to be productive," Jones said. "That's a big part of why we did what we did." It's grown beyond that now, though. From a purely business standpoint, especially with the problems happening down south, they figured they could build an industry up here. "We feel like we're helping other growers," Kim Jones explained. "We buy other growers fruit and pack it for them. We try to help them stay out of trouble by learning from our mistakes." Jones says they did make a lot of mistakes in the beginning, so he's hoping he can keep other North Florida growers from making the same mistakes.
Growing citrus in North Florida does come with it's own problems, despite not having the greening. Up here, there are different bugs and fungi that they have to deal with. The hardest thing to deal with, though, is the cold that North Florida gets. Cold can easily kill the trees, but they try to work around it with water. By spraying water down low on the ground, they are able to keep the grove warmer, as the water coming out of the well is about 60 degrees. It warms up the grove completely, as long as they don't have heavy winds that would blow the heat out of the grove, though they take precautions against that by planting break wind trees on the outskirts of the grove.
What about once the fruit is grown, though? How does Florida Georgia Citrus process the fruit? Well, it starts with picking. They hire about 15 to 30 workers to go out into the field and clip the fruit off the trees. Despite what some might think, you don't pull the fruit off the trees. You have to cut them off at the stem. While they're harvesting, they have to pay attention to the fruit's color because it won't sell well if they aren't colored properly. After the harvesting is done, they bring the fruit to the processing shed and run them through their processing line. The line washes the fruit, sprays them to kill any pathogens or bacteria, waxes them and then dries them. They then pack the fruit into different boxes depending on where it is going and what the orders are.
Despite the fact that their season is winding down, their work doesn't stop. The citrus season generally runs from around the first of November to the middle of January, but this year it came a little early and finished a little later, starting in the middle of October and coming to an end around now. Even though the season is just about through, there is still work to be done to produce high-quality citrus. "With fruit, you're in the grove once a week at least," Jones said. Generally, they are in the fields every week two to three times a week. Whether it's trimming the plants, scouting for diseases, shaping the trees, mowing the grass, the list goes on, there is a lot to be done in the fields to keep the trees healthy and produce the best fruit possible. "Fresh fruit is real particular," Jones said. "You get one bug stain or a little bit of fungus on it, and that fruit will not go to fresh market. It just won't be good for it." Not only do they have to keep caring for the fruit, but they also update their packing line every year to continue to improve their production quality and efficiency.
Growing citrus is a hard job, and doing so in North Florida presents many different challenges. Still, Kim and Angela Jones put in the effort to make it work. It's something that Kim Jones wanted to do, as this is the job he chose to do for his second career after retiring from his career in the agriculture business. Passion and care make Florida Georgia Citrus a wonderful company that produces high-quality products. More than that, they are local and stationed right here in Jefferson County, so remember to shop local next time your in the mood for some citrus!
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