Crops & Livestock | Farm | Food | Fresh From Florida

Joshua Citrus: A Family Fruit Farm for Six Generations

Joshua Citrus
Photo courtesy of Temple Grove

Citrus farmer Kevin Shelfer rises with the sun each morning and heads out the door by 6:30 a.m. There are many chores to be done on his 300-acre farm, Joshua Citrus Inc., situated along the fertile banks of Joshua Creek in Arcadia.

“There are always a lot of things going on,” says Kevin’s wife, Lynn, who also works full time for the family citrus business. “On a typical day, Kevin may be getting our employees started with fertilizing or spraying, mowing, juicing, moving equipment or doing office work. He sometimes gets home by 7 p.m., but often it’s after dark.”

The Shelfer Family
The Shelfer family has been in the citrus business since the 1880s. Photo courtesy of Joshua Citrus

A Sweet Family Tradition

The Shelfer family has been growing citrus fruits in Florida for six generations, ever since Kevin’s great-great-grandfather, James Shelfer, planted the first orange trees along Joshua Creek in 1887. Now recognized as a Century Pioneer Farm, Joshua Citrus grows more than 10 different varieties of citrus, including Navel, Hamlin, Temple and Valencia oranges, Ruby Red grapefruit, Sugar Belle and Honeybell tangelos, Murcott tangerines, Meyer lemons, and limes.

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“Citrus is a great product and a wonderful industry to be in,” Lynn says. “We love doing what we do.” One year after they married, Kevin and Lynn started the retail side of the business, opening the Joshua Citrus Grove Stand in 1989. Visitors can come to the farm’s retail store and buy fruit and fresh-squeezed juices directly from the grower.

“We give grove tours and we do a lot of education about our industry,” Lynn says. “We like having people come visit us. We tell them how we grow citrus and we share with them our challenges and triumphs. We expanded into agritourism because more people want to see where their food comes from, and want to buy it directly from the farmer.”

Both the Shelfers’ grown children work for the family business. Their daughter, Olivia Meador, works as Joshua Citrus’ communications manager, and their son, Caleb, is the grove production manager. Joshua Citrus also has several longtime, faithful employees.

“October through May is our picking season, and we do all the washing, waxing, packaging and fresh-squeezing juice here at the farm,” Lynn says.

Joshua Citrus
Photo courtesy of Joshua Citrus

Visiting Joshua Citrus

Visitors who want a guided tour of the grove need a reservation, but to purchase the fruit, customers can simply show up at the Joshua Citrus Grove Stand during operating hours Monday through Saturday. In addition to fresh whole citrus fruit, the retail store sells fresh-squeezed orange, strawberry-orange, and grapefruit juices; soft serve vanilla, orange and pineapple ice cream and ice cream floats made with the juice; souvenir T-shirts; orange and tangerine marmalades; as well as Florida and citrus-themed gifts, puzzles and citrus-scented candles.

“Usually in January and February, we also have Honeybell juice – a popular juice made from tangelos that is very sweet but slightly different than orange juice,” Lynn says. “It has a stronger flavor.”

Joshua Citrus-Shelfer Family in Grove Left Top- Kevin Shelfer Left Bottom- Olivia Shelfer Meador Right Top- Caleb Shelfer Right Bottom- Lynn Shelfer Source: Joshua Citrus
Photo courtesy of Joshua Citrus

Overcoming Challenges

As idyllic as it sounds, Joshua Citrus hasn’t been immune to the hardships most family farms face.

“There are always challenges – things like labor issues, water issues, pests and diseases,” Lynn says. “We use the H-2A guest worker program for harvesting our citrus, and although it’s expensive and heavy on paperwork, it provides us with a good workforce.”

The H-2A program allows U.S. employers to bring foreign nationals to the United States to fill temporary agricultural jobs. These workers help harvest, wash, wax and pack the fruit. Then it is ready to sell or ship.

“Our gift fruit shipping is a huge part of our business,” Lynn says. Customers can order a variety of delicious products online from the Joshua Citrus catalog. It’s like sending friends and family the gift of Florida sunshine.

Plan Your Trip

Joshua Citrus Grove Stand
4135 S.E. County Rd. 760, Arcadia
800-749-8219
joshuacitrus.com
Open seasonally, October through May.
Grove tours are available by appointment only, and there is a charge per person for the tour. Please call ahead for availability and hours.