Study: Storm caused $158 million in damage to Florida crops

ORLANDO, Fla. – A new study says Florida crops suffered $158 million in damages from Hurricane Michael.

The report released Friday by the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences says that almost all of the state’s cotton crop was wiped out.

Those losses total around $51 million.

Florida’s greenhouse, nursery and floriculture production suffered $39 million in losses and the state’s peanut crop took a hit of $22 million in losses.

Damage to the area’s livestock was around $23 million.

Florida lost $9 million in vegetables and melons, $4 million in fruits and $3 million in tree nuts, including pecans.

Separately, the Florida Forest Service estimates that Florida lost almost $1.3 billion in timber that would have been harvested over several years.