Florida citrus farmer reflects on '83 freeze as he prepares for final harvest

Citrus farmer Bill Reed is thankful the frigid temperatures didn't go below freezing.

He owns and operates Hilltop Groves, where citrus lovers can pick their own oranges.

Historic citrus grove endures good times and bad

The backstory:

Reed comes from generations of citrus farmers; his great-grandfather came to Florida from Maine in the 1800s to cash in on the crop.

He gave FOX 35 an exclusive look at his farms and family history.

When addressing the recent chilly weather, he said, "It [temperatures] have got to get down in the 20s to do anything — 20s will freeze a fruit, but it won’t hurt the trees."

However, news of the Florida freeze brought back memories of the Citrus Freeze that crippled his groves.

"In 1983, when my dad and I lost our grove, it was 16 degrees with the wind chill. It was so windy we couldn’t even turn the heaters on. That was a bad one. It wiped out Ocala and Orlando," he said.

His groves thrived before the freeze.

For now, he is going to be monitoring the weather conditions, he says.

What's next:

This will be farmer Reed's last year growing oranges.

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The Source: This story was written based on information shared by citrus farmer Bill Reed, owner and operator of Hilltop Groves.

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