Miss Florida Citrus, celebrating its 100th year, symbolizes the state's heritage, as well as the hope still found in citrus farming

Florida ranked as the nation’s largest citrus producer in the last decade. The USDA says 70 percent of the nation’s citrus came from the state in that time. But the industry has suffered several major production blows over the years. This season alone, the state is down to 19.8 million boxes, coming in below a 20.5 million projection in January. 

Florida’s dedication and promotion of its citrus has never faltered, however. Citrus-focused pageantry is one of the many efforts to educate the general public about the state’s iconic crop. 

Originating in the 1920s in Winter Haven, Florida, then a citrus production hub, the Miss Florida Citrus pageant was born as a celebration of the industry. One hundred years later,  it’s an organization that also looks to educate, give back to the community, and move the needle on citrus regulations. 

Alana Scheuerer, this year’s reigning Miss Florida Citrus, says as a pageant queen, you need to have a drive to educate. 

“When you do pageants, it’s almost a little bit like politics. They all run with a passion or a platform that they want to focus on throughout their year,” she explains. “Mine is called TAP, Turn Up Artistic Participation. It’s a play on words because I’m a tap dancer.” 

Citrus as heritage

Scheuerer is a two-time FSU graduate, with both a degree in hospitality management and tourism, and a master's of arts. Currently, she works as community outreach for the International Association of Firefighters (IAFF). For a year, however, she must focus solely on her Miss Florida Citrus responsibilities, advocating for both TAP, and Florida’s citrus industry.

She began her journey in pageantry in 2019, while pursuing her master’s degree. At the time, she was looking for a way to fund her higher education, and someone advised her to be open minded about the idea of a pageant. That’s when she decided to try for the Miss America organization, one of the largest providers of scholarships for young women in the United States.

“I tell everyone, I started for scholarships and stayed for the service,” she said. “Fast forward several years later, I’ve been able to pay off that master’s degree with the scholarships I’ve earned. Now I have the absolute privilege of being Miss Floria Citrus, and I’m just honored to represent the entire citrus industry throughout our state.” 

She says the job consists of several elements that require her to travel throughout the state to lobby for the citrus industry and accessibility in the arts. Although Scheuerer does not come from a family of growers, she makes sure to mention she’s a Floridian, and citrus is an essential part of her heritage. 

“I don’t think it takes anybody long to see our iconic Florida license plate driving by to know that oranges and citrus are just a staple of our state,” she says. “The citrus industry makes up over 33,000 jobs in Florida and has over $6.8 billion of an economic impact.” 

Advocating for Florida oranges

Scheuerer started her reign as Miss Citrus in March. She began the job of representing Florida citrus right away. 

She recently returned from a trip to Washington D.C., alongside other Florida citrus representatives. Scheuerer says she was surrounded by people from Texas and California, as well by organizers from the National Citrus Council. 

The three states are the largest citrus producers in the country, according to the USDA. In 2023, California was the largest crop producer with 3 million tons of citrus. Florida, the top producer until recently, came in second with nearly 2.6 tons million, and then Texas at 141,000. 

A major battle for Florida has been citrus greening, a disease with no cure that leads to poorly colored, lopsided and bitter fruits. The fruit from a diseased tree can only be used for juice. One of the things Scheuerer has been focusing on is this year’s Farm Bill, specifically regulations for Brix or sugar levels.

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 “Some of the issues we’re seeing are from the long-term effects of greening, that our fresh oranges aren’t producing the same amount of sugar,” she explains. “You would think it’s a good thing, a little more health conscious. But because of some of our current bills and the kind of sugar content associated with the identity of orange juice, we’re having to mix our Florida-grown oranges with other orange juice to raise that sugar content.” 

Currently, lawmakers from Florida are seeking to change the FDA’s sugar requirements, the Brix standard, from 10.5 to 10 degrees. 

As a true Floridian, Scheuerer says orange juice is her favorite beverage, and she would love to see the needle move on that regulation. 

“It’s shown that it’s not going to affect the taste level, and people enjoy it just as much,” she explains. “It might sound a little silly, but everyone should want to lower the sugar intake and be a little healthier, especially if it’s not so much affecting the taste and that enjoyable fresh beverage.” 

Miss Florida Citrus history

The efforts of the Miss Florida Citrus pageant to promote the Florida industry has been a long-standing one. This year, the pageant celebrates 100 years of operation.

Brenda Eubanks Burnette, the Executive Director of Miss Florida Citrus Hall of Fame, says the organization has dealt with its ups and downs, but it’s definitely stood its ground.

“This year we really tried to come back and promote the glamor and the hopefulness going forward and continuing with the traditions that we’ve had in the past,” Eubanks Burnette explains. “This really helps us remember the good years and the celebrations. They’re a good moment for citrus growers, in a year where they don’t really feel a lot of good moments.” 

Eubanks says that a picture tells a thousand words and seeing Florida represented in a big crowd by Miss Florida Citrus does help morale. 

“For us to be able to have that spokesperson with their social media skills and knowledge about the industry, it helps us explore another face of promotional capability that we might not have if we did not have an ambassador to help us,” she says. 

Miss Florida Citrus will be traveling to promote oranges in Texas, primarily a grapefruit state, and will be attending a myriad of events across the country throughout the year, one of them the upcoming 2024 Citrus Show in Fort Pierce.

Once her year as Miss Florida Citrus ends, Alana Scheuerer will prepare for the Miss America pageant. 

Photos courtesy of Miss Florida Citrus