Alico Inc. Identifies Canker Find in Isolated Grove
Alico Inc. Identifies Canker Find in Isolated Grove
Company's In-House Inspectors Discover Early to Prevent Spread
LA BELLE, Fla., Sept. 2 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Alico, Inc., (NASDAQ:ALCO) one of the South's best-known agribusiness companies operating in Central and Southwest Florida, and with approximately 136,500 acres in real estate holdings, was informed on August 31, 2005, by the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services that citrus canker was confirmed in Alico's Knowles-Thomas grove located in Hendry County, Florida. Citrus canker is a highly contagious bacterial disease of citrus that causes premature leaf and fruit drop. Citrus canker causes no threat to humans, animals or plant life other than citrus. In order to eradicate the disease, infected and exposed trees within 1900 feet of the canker find, must be removed and destroyed in accordance with Florida law.
John R. Alexander, Chairman and CEO of Alico, Inc. said, "This is the second canker find in our groves this year. We recently hired two canker inspectors so that we can discover the disease early if present, thereby minimizing the loss. This find was discovered by our in-house inspectors. The find is expected to impact approximately 350 acres of this grove location. The earlier find this year affected approximately 150 acres of a grove in Polk County, Florida." This find, coupled with the earlier find, affects approximately 4.50% of the Company's 11,147 producing citrus acres. All of the trees in this grove are covered under the Federal Crop Insurance program. A net loss of approximately $960 thousand, consisting of tree development costs and inventoried costs, will be recorded in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2005. Reimbursements to be received from this insurance coverage are expected to cover approximately 62% of the loss.
Additionally under the Florida Canker Eradication Program, citrus may not be replanted on the property until it has been determined that the property has been canker free for two years. In light of this, the Company is evaluating the property for its best future use. The Knowles-Thomas grove is not contiguous to other Company groves.
About Alico
Alico, Inc., an agribusiness company operating in Central and Southwest Florida, owns approximately 136,500 acres of land located in Collier, Hendry, Lee and Polk Counties. The company is involved in various operations and activities including citrus fruit production, cattle ranching, sugarcane, sod production, and forestry. The Company also leases land for farming, cattle grazing, recreation and oil exploration, and is increasingly involved in exploring real estate development in and beyond its holdings.
Statements in this press release that are not statements of historical or current fact constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other unknown factors that could cause the actual results of the Company to be materially different from the historical results or from any future results expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements contained herein are also subject generally to other risks and uncertainties that are described from time to time in the Company's reports and registration statements filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
For further information contact: John R. Alexander
La Belle, Florida
(863) 675-2966
Source: Alico, Inc.
CONTACT: John R. Alexander, Alico, +1-863-675-2966
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