‘It’s Very Sad’: Mixon Owners Discuss Decision To Sell Citrus Farm

BRADENTON, FL — After 84 years in the family, Dean and Janet Mixon are selling Mixon Fruit Farms, putting the 39-acre farm at 2525 27th Street E. on the market for $15.8 million.

The store will close for good July 29, while the farm will remain open for the event rentals it has currently booked through January 2024, they said.

A number of factors led to the difficult decision — a declining citrus industry hit hard by disease in recent decades, stringent regulations, rising insurance costs, difficulties finding and retaining employees — the couple told Patch.

“We get people all the time that will go, ‘Why are those farmers just selling their land?’” Janet said. “Farmers would not sell their land if they were not basically pushed out. And when you have trees that were planted in the 1800s and they’re all killed within 20 years, they’re all dead, it’s sad. It’s very sad.”

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Dean’s grandparents started the business in 1939, but they were selling citrus well before that, she said.

“They had a house that sat right here where our store is,” Janet said. “They had a roadside fruit stand that started before they were actually called a business. Those were the days when you set out a box and people left money in it… 1939 was when the business became official.”

Dean grew up on the farm and in the citrus industry, taking over the company as a third-generation owner.

Though he and Janet have only been married for about 20 years, Mixon Fruit Farms was also special to her growing up.

The couple first met as kindergarten classmates at Manatee Elementary School, and both graduated from Southeast High School. Some days, she’d ride the bus home from school with Dean and they’d be put to work packing kumquats, preparing them for shipment.

“We were cheap labor at 5 or 6 years old,” she said. “So, (the farm) has been part of my life, too, and definitely part of his. So, I know it’s going to be really hard.”

By the late 1980s, a canker outbreak ravaged 52 acres at the farm, Dean said. They were forced to burn the trees and replant the fields.

The industry was hardest hit in the early 1990s, though, when the North American Free Trade Agreement was enacted, Janet said. “One of the problems with NAFTA is that with the importing of fruits and vegetables, also came every insect and bug that could attack our farms.”

At its height, Mixon boasted 350 acres of citrus trees, some planted in the 1800s.

“The trees had made it through hurricanes and freezes but we were no match for Tristeza, which was the second disease we got at the farm,” she said. “We lost 20,000 trees the first year and 20,000 trees the next year.”

Dean added, “When other diseases started hitting the industry, we lost all the mature trees.”

At the time, his father, Bill Mixon, still ran the farm. He decided they couldn’t maintain such a large farm with insects and disease destroying their crops and he sold 250 acres, Janet said. “Losing those trees was a heartbreaking time.”

Mixon wasn’t the only farm affected by disease and pests, she added. Two decades ago, there were more than 350 small citrus farms in the state.

“Now, there are less than 20,” she said. “When all the farms are gone, the importers will raise their prices, kind of like what is happening now with oil. Everyone that enjoyed the lower priced fruit from other countries, will wonder, what happened to all the farms?”

The family “saw the handwriting on the wall” for the industry, Dean said. As other farms shut down, they tried to hang on by adding new attractions.

One of the first things they did, in the 1980s, was introduce its orange swirl ice cream. From there, came fudge, a tram tour of the farm, a deli with a lunch menu, a children’s playground, a wildlife rescue, a wedding and special event pavilion, and the Farmhouse Inn.

These additions bolstered visitors’ experiences at Mixon Fruit Farms, allowing them to stay open while other small farms were forced to close, Dean said. “There are just a few of us left in the state now because lot of (other farms) didn’t want to diversify.”

In recent years, they’ve also had difficulty retaining employees.

“We just can’t get any help,” Dean said. “I’m doing a lot of physical labor that I gave up 20 years ago. It’s been kind of tough on me trying to keep it up as a business. I’m kind of looking forward to not having to put out fires every day.”

And when they do find good workers, they’re often poached by other companies, Janet said. “We actually lost all of our wedding department people to other vendors. Then we have to get all new people in.”

Insurance has also become unaffordable, she said. “The insurance on this (store) building alone is up to $350,000. How does somebody do that?”

In April, Mixon sold 4.5 acres of property south of 26th Avenue East — bordered by 27th Street East on the west and the Manatee County Schools’ Matzke Complex to the east and south — according to the Bradenton Herald. The land will be the future home of a 7-Eleven gas station.

In the fall, they were approached about selling the farm, but the contract fell through, Janet said. “The (buyers) never came by. They never did anything. They stopped it right before they had to put in some more money.”

They backed out of the deal after Hurricane Ian pummeled Southwest Florida.

“We were told that they had some big stuff going on in Fort Myers and the hurricane destroyed a lot of it and it was taking up a lot of money,” she said.

They’ve already received at least one offer on the farm within the first three days of it being listed for sale by Coldwell Banker Realty, she added. “So, we’re not thinking it’s going to be a problem selling it.”

In the meantime, they’ll continue hosting community events at the farm, including the March 24 murder mystery luncheon, the March 25 craft fair and Easter Bunny event, and a May 13 banquet celebrating 84 years of Mixon Fruit Farms.

And the couple is already thinking about what they’re planning after the farm is sold.

“We’re in our seventies,” Janet said. “Now, we can travel, and we have grandchildren we love to do things with.”

They also plan to continue to advocate for the citrus industry with two trips planned this spring to meet with state leaders in Tallahassee.

Dean will focus his energy on an invention he created, U-Pin-It, his wife said. He launched the digital map as a fun platform for businesses to easily capture email addresses and other information about their customers.

Janet hopes to launch a Mixon food truck serving all the favorites from the farm café’s menu.

“At least the ice cream, the pressed Cuban, the grilled cheese. Our most popular items,” she said. “People keep asking me, ‘What about the ice cream? Where can I get the ice cream?’”

This food truck will help her stay connected with her longtime customers and Mixon’s legacy.

“We’ve been a part of this community for so long and we love it. We love this area and the memories we’ve made here,” Janet said. “It feels like we’re doing really good about this (sale) but when it comes time to do this, it’s going to be really hard.”