May 15, 2019

Family-owned and vertically integrated citrus grower, packer, and shipper IMG Citrus has acquired 4,000 acres of grapefruit groves in St. Lucie County, Florida, from Packers of Indian River for $31 million.

Packers of Indian River was founded in 1928, and is currently run by third-generation citrus grower J.L Rogers III and his son-in-law Michael Garavaglia. This sale will divest the entirety of the company’s holdings in the India River region, however, the company will still own 2,500 acres in Charlotte County, according to TC Palm.

“The transaction served both families well,” Garavaglia said in an email. “It’s going to give our family an opportunity to rebalance our agriculture holdings while still maintaining a strong focus growing Florida grapefruit on a very successful property in Charlotte County.”

Through the deal, IMG Citrus will expand the farmland it manages by 75 percent, and has renamed the grove Happy Food Grove by IMG Citrus, which will market fruit under the brand name Happy Food, which can be found in supermarkets across the U.S., Canada, Europe, and Asia.

IMG plans to use 397 acres of the parcel for a new grove project, including 273 acres dedicated to high-density planting, which IMG perfected at its Cherrylake site, and which is expected to be producing within three years. The remaining acreage of trees will be allocated to existing traditional blocks.

“Cherrylake was originally all citrus groves,” said Michel Sallin, president, IMG Citrus. “We lost nearly everything during the freezes in the 1980s. Rather than shut everything down, we adapted by turning our Cherrylake property into a thriving, ornamental tree farm that focuses on landscape construction and maintenance, while moving our citrus operation down south to where it is today. Seventy-five acres of land at Cherrylake are still dedicated to citrus, where we have been able to explore new varieties and high-density planting methods.”

Of all farming categories, Florida citrus is widely seen as one of the riskier prospects due to citrus greening, a disease that has ravaged groves for years. Production estimates for Florida citrus continue to decline into the 2018/2019 season, according to the latest figures from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), forecasting that production will be 72.4 million 90-pound boxes – down from an average of 200 million 90-pound boxes in the mid-1990s.

This season’s Florida grapefruit crops expectations continue to slide. At the start of the season, the USDA forecast production of 6.7 million boxes – this fell to a current forecast of 4.58 million boxes, compared to a harvest two years ago of 7.76 million boxes.

“We know Florida grapefruit is the best in the world,” said Sallin. “We believe in this industry and we believe in Florida grapefruit. A solution to greening will be found, and when that day comes, we’ll be ready.”

“We have adopted a more aggressive approach to production, focusing on high-density and super-high-density planting methods to help combat greening by creating a more controlled environment,” added Brian Randolph, IMG director of grove production. “In the new grove, we can optimize nutrient and water management, a critical factor for production in a greening environment. This level of precision not only helps keep the trees healthy, but it’s more environmentally sustainable by reducing water use and nutrient runoff.”

Under the terms of the deal, the 17 employees associated with the property sold will transfer to IMG Citrus in their current positions.

“It was important to us that we did not disrupt the operation of the grove, and more importantly, that the employees felt reassured that IMG Citrus would continue to provide them the opportunity to work and grow within the company,” said Joaquin Perez, human resources manager. “Our goal is to make the transition as easy and as seamless as possible, and I think we’ve done that well through open communication. Employees have kept their same positions; they’re just part of a bigger family now.”

-Lynda Kiernan