In recent years, the Florida citrus industry has been decimated by disease and economics.  Florida has the perfect land and climate for growing bamboo and beginning in 2017, a pioneering group of investors and farmers began creating a new American industry by resurrecting Florida’s former citrus groves with bamboo farms.

While bamboo farms take 7-10 years to mature to full production capability, they are virtually disease and pest-free and produce for 80 years or more, making bamboo one of the most sustainable crops. Bamboo’s fast growth produces more oxygen and absorbs more CO2 per acre than most trees.  Since bamboo shoots are harvested from the same root system without tilling or replanting, bamboo can sequester up to 1,000 tons of CO2 per acre over the life of the plant.

One of the best examples of the resurgence of family farms in America, in 2025, over 100 bamboo farms on 1,200 acres are in various stages of production in Florida, with estimates of harvest volumes increasing 10-fold in the next 5 years.