Florida orange growers consider alternative product

VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. — The citrus industry in Florida continues to take massive financial hits because of citrus greening disease, and growers have begun considering growing an alternative product: olives.
 
Channel 9 spoke with one grower in Volusia County who is exploring whether Florida can become the olive state.
 
"We went ahead and just ponied up and put our money where our mouth is and said, 'Let's try this,'" Richard Williams of Florida Olive Systems said.
 
Williams said his family goes back six generations in the citrus business, and citrus greening has touched nearly every tree in the state.
 
"(Citrus greening is) devastating. They saw the writing on the wall in 2008 and decided we've got to find something else," Williams said.
 
The Williams family switched its 20-acre orange grove into an olive grove and has produced olive oil unlike any other in the world.
 
"This is Florida grown, right here in Volusia County, in De Leon Springs. When you try this you'll notice a smooth, herbal and a little bit of a fruity hit to it," Williams said.
 
Florida olives can be cultivated earlier in the year compared to trees in California or Italy, which take longer to bear fruit.
 
Officials said preliminary testing showed that the oil contains anti-inflammatory properties that could be useful in fighting heart disease.
 
Williams said the state's growers won't abandon oranges for olives just yet because there's still a lot of research that needs to be done.
 
"It would be great if we could find a potential replacement or a crop that could work in addition to citrus," Williams said.
 
Olive trees require far less water, fertilizer and pesticides than citrus.

Cox Media Group