Florida’s days as the orange basket of America may be numbered. A pernicious disease that has plagued the state’s citrus groves is forcing farmers to find new ways to do business, even if it means getting out of the orange industry.
Some of those growers are being drawn to unconventional markets in the wake of devastating losses. That has included growing olives, hops (for beer), pomegranates, and even pongamia (a type of legume), reports the Wall Street Journal (paywall).
The citrus farmers who have embraced growing tropical pongamia trees are particularly interesting, as the switch steers them out of the food business entirely. The poisonous seeds produced by the trees are high in oil content and can be converted into biofuel, animal feed, even lubricant. The tree is native to Australia and India and has been used for lamp oil, soap, and leather tanning.
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