La. Orange Crop Still Down After Storms

Ben Becnel Jr., and his father Ben Becnel Sr., pose for a photograph with oranges in their grove in Jesuit Bend, La., Monday, Nov. 27, 2006. Last year's hurricanes flooded Ben Becnel Sr.'s citrus groves with saltwater, thrashed three of his greenhouses and workers' quarters and destroyed or otherwise damaged hundreds of orange trees. With harvest under way and the parish's weekend-long orange festival set to begin Friday, farmers like Ben Becnel, with navel oranges and satsuma mandarins to sell, are trying to fill strong demand. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon) (Alex Brandon - AP)

Vaughn isn't convinced everyone will; the work is hard, and farmers are getting older. "I don't know we can (fully) recover," he said.

Ask folks what makes Plaquemines oranges so great, and they'll know instantly that you're not from here. This is, after all, a fruit that's celebrated each year.

"If you taste our fruit, I've never had anyone say, Eh, that's OK," Vaughn said. "The navels will drip (juice) down your arm." Vaughn believes the climate and rich delta soil give Plaquemines oranges an edge in taste.

J.B. Falgoust, who has bought Plaquemines oranges for years, recently traveled about 110 miles, from his home near Vacherie, upriver from New Orleans, to Buras, to find Ragas and the oranges he's traditionally given as Christmas presents.

"You'd think he'd say 'I quit.' But no, he's coming back," Falgoust said.

The Becnels, who also sell citrus at a roadside stand, have been supplying loyal customers with limited amounts of fruit but turning down some orders, Becnel Jr. said. In years past, fruit would be shipped to customers and chain stores in markets such as Atlanta, Indianapolis and St. Louis. But this year, with a supply pinched by last year's hurricanes and poorer growing conditions, the farthest its being trucked is Baton Rouge, Becnel Sr. said.

Prices are up from 2004, from about $14 for a 40-pound box to $22.50 a box. But with costs such as spraying and fertilizing, and the total loss of about 350 trees to the storms, it still won't be enough to break even, Becnel Sr. said.

He figures they'll produce just 10,000 boxes of fruit this year; in a good year, they'd produce three to four times that. Their financial saving grace will be their vegetables, which did well, he said.

While it's been a difficult year, the Becnels, fifth and sixth generations in this business, can't see getting out of the industry now; it's what they know.

Becnel Jr. said he'd keep on "until God moves me."

"He was close," he said, "but we're still here."