By Halle Parker, The Times-Picayune
From the top of the Mississippi River levee, the bright orange of hundreds of satsumas and navels stands out against the green leaves of the citrus trees that crisscross Joseph Ranatza Jr.'s property in neat rows.
Ranatza was raised in this orchard, an upbringing he passed on to his children, and he never tires of its sweet bounty.
Clipping a ripe satsuma from one of his trees on a chilly December afternoon, he smiled and said, "You can't come out here without eating."
Over time, Ranatza's citrus orchards in Plaquemines Parish have grown to 100 acres, more than triple the 30 acres passed down by his father. But his gains are a reflection of an industry that has contracted and consolidated over several challenging decades, a period that has seen Louisiana’s unofficial citrus capital plagued by an array of diseases, pests, freezes, hurricanes and land loss, each compounding on the other's impact.