By Clint Thompson
An exciting but anxious season awaits watermelon farmers in the Suwanee Valley region of North Florida. That is the mindset shared by one industry expert who is concerned about what a potential increase in acres will mean for the market in the spring.
Bob Hochmuth, University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) Regional Specialized Extension agent in Live Oak, Florida, spoke at the Suwanee Valley Watermelon Institute meeting in Fanning Springs, Florida, on Nov. 30. He addressed next season which will likely be highlighted by more acres following a successful season in 2023.
“I think the watermelon industry is exciting every year. I think that it makes it more anxious than exciting in a way,” Hochmuth said. “It’s exciting in that there’s a lot of opportunity and we are getting a little bit of increase in consumption. I think anxious would be more of the way I would describe the grower because of this risk of, if we get an increase to the point that there’s so many watermelons on the market in a short period of time, that it drives the price down. The market is going to be driven by supply and demand and if the supply is so high that we don’t get a good price, then that’s not going to be good for anybody.”
North Florida growers capitalized last spring on a late start by Georgia farmers and lack of supply to conduct multiple harvests across their fields. Florida producers also took advantage of an early planting window in late February which allowed for earlier harvests.
Industry experts project an increase in North Florida acres. Whether that is an additional 100 acres or 500 acres remains to be seen.