By Emmy Powell
Communications Specialist

Despite a hot, dry summer, citrus growers in the Rio Grande Valley are preparing for harvest with expectations for a larger crop than last year.

“This has been one of the most brutal summers I can remember. It’s been extremely hot and dry,” Dale Murden, a citrus grower in the Valley, said. “It’s been a tough summer to get through.”

Even with those conditions, Murden expects this year’s crop to be 15% larger than last year’s 6 million cartons.

The lack of rain hasn’t significantly changed the crop outlook, but the heat and drought have affected fruit size. The Valley experienced nearly 60 consecutive days of triple-digit temperatures this summer.

“We’ve made it through in spite of no rain,” Murden told the Texas Farm Bureau Radio Network. “In the case of early oranges, we’re having some sizing difficulties through the hot summer September weather. We hope for a little cooler pattern, some rains, to get those oranges and grapefruit to a little better maturity going into November and December.”

Harvest begins this month and continues through May.

The Texas citrus industry is still recovering from several damaging weather events in recent years.

Winter Storm Uri in 2021 damaged or killed about 10% of the Valley’s citrus trees, leaving about 24,000 acres in production.

But weather isn’t the only challenge for citrus growers. Labor remains a concern as growers struggle to find a reliable workforce.

“The labor situation’s getting worse every year. It’s getting harder to have a stable workforce,” he said.

Legislation introduced in Congress this summer aims to address some of agriculture’s workforce challenges.

The Securing Agriculture’s Workforce Act would modernize the H-2A agricultural guestworker program. The legislation, which is supported by Texas Farm Bureau, would expand access to the program, address labor costs and streamline the process for agricultural employers.

Water availability is another challenge for citrus growers as Mexico continues to fall behind on water deliveries to the U.S. outlined under the 1944 Water Treaty.

“Mexico’s still behind in debt, a little over 900,000 acre-feet of water, which we could surely use,” Murden said.

Under the treaty, Mexico is required to deliver 350,000 acre-feet of water annually over a five-year cycle. The U.S. and Mexico continue to work through the International Boundary and Water Commission to address water deliveries along the Rio Grande.