UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 10-K

☑Annual Report Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934

For the Fiscal Year Ended September 30, 2021

or

☐Transition Report Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934

For the transition period

from ____________________to_________________________

Commission File Number: 0-261

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act.

☐Yes ☑ No

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Act.

☐Yes ☑ No

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. ☑Yes ☐ No

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit such files). ☑Yes ☐ No

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company, or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer”, “accelerated filer”, “smaller reporting company” and "emerging growth company" in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act. (Check one):

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has filed a report on and attestation to its management’s assessment of the effectiveness of its internal control over financial reporting under Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (15 U.S.C. 7262(b)) by the registered public accounting firm that prepared or issued its audit report. ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act).  Yes ☐ No ☑

The aggregate market value of the voting and nonvoting common equity held by non-affiliates based on the closing price, as quoted on the Nasdaq Global Select Market as of March 31, 2021 (the last business day of Alico’s most recently completed second fiscal quarter) was $156,821,017. Solely for the purposes of this calculation, the registrant has elected to treat all executives, officers and greater than 10% stockholders as affiliates of the registrant. There were 7,535,932 shares of common stock outstanding at December 3, 2021.

Documents Incorporated by Reference:

Portions of the Proxy Statement of Registrant for the 2022 Annual Meeting of Stockholders (to be filed with the SEC under Regulation 14A within 120 days after the end of the Registrant's fiscal year), are incorporated by reference in Part III of this report.

ALICO, INC.

FORM 10-K

For the fiscal year ended September 30, 2021

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Cautionary Statement

This Annual Report on Form 10-K contains certain “forward-looking statements,” as such term is defined in Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the “Exchange Act”). They are based on management’s current expectations and assumptions regarding our business and performance, the economy and other future conditions and forecasts of future events, circumstances and results. These forward-looking statements can be identified by the fact that they do not relate strictly to historical or current facts. Forward-looking statements often include words such as “may,” “will,” “could,” “should,” “would,” “believes,” “expects,” “anticipates”, “estimates”, “projects,” “intends,” “plans” and other words and terms of similar substance in connection with discussions of future operating or financial performance. Such forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding future actions, business plans and prospects, prospective products, trends, future performance or results of current and anticipated products, sales efforts, expenses, interest rates, the outcome of contingencies, such as legal proceedings, plans relating to dividends, government regulations, the adequacy of our liquidity to meet our needs for the foreseeable future and our expectations regarding market conditions.

As with any projection or forecast, forward-looking statements are inherently susceptible to uncertainty and changes in circumstances. Our actual results may vary materially from those expressed or implied in our forward-looking statements. Should known or unknown risks or uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove inaccurate, actual results could vary materially from past results and those anticipated, estimated or projected. Investors should bear this in mind as they consider forward-looking statements.

We undertake no obligation to update forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. You are advised, however, to consult any further disclosures we make on related subjects in our Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and Current Reports on Form 8-K filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"). We provide in Item 1A, “Risk Factors,” a cautionary discussion of certain risks and uncertainties related to our businesses. These are factors that we believe, individually or in the aggregate, could cause our actual results to differ materially from expected and historical results. We note these factors for investors as permitted by Section 21E of the Exchange Act. In addition, the operation and results of our business are subject to risks and uncertainties identified elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K as well as general risks and uncertainties such as those relating to general economic conditions. You should understand that it is not possible to predict or identify all such risks. Consequently, you should not consider such discussion to be a complete discussion of all potential risks or uncertainties.

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PART I

Item 1. Business

Alico, Inc. (“Alico”) was incorporated under the laws of the state of Florida in 1960. Collectively with its subsidiaries (the "Company", "we", "us" or "our"), our business and operations are described below.  For detailed financial information with respect to our business and our operations, see Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations which is included in Item 7 in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, and the accompanying Consolidated Financial Statements and the related Notes, which are included in Item 8. In addition, general information concerning our Company can be found on our website, the internet address of which is http://www.alicoinc.com. All of our filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") including, but not limited to, the Annual Reports on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, Current Reports on Form 8-K, and any amendments thereto, are available free of charge on our website as soon as reasonably practicable after such material is electronically filed or furnished with the SEC. Our recent press releases and information regarding corporate governance, including the charters of our audit, compensation, nominating and governance, and sustainability and corporate responsibility committees, as well as our code of business conduct and ethics are also available to be viewed or downloaded electronically at http://www.alicoinc.com. Unless explicitly stated herein, the information on our website is not incorporated by reference into this Annual Report on Form 10-K and the Company disclaims any such incorporation by reference.

Overview

Alico is an agribusiness with a legacy of achievement and innovation in citrus and conservation. The Company owns approximately 83,000 acres of land in eight Florida counties (Charlotte, Collier, DeSoto, Glades, Hardee, Hendry, Highlands and Polk), and approximately 90,000 acres of mineral rights throughout Florida. Alico holds these mineral rights on substantially all its owned acres, with additional mineral rights on other acres. Our principal lines of business are citrus groves and conservation.

Alico is one of the largest citrus producers in the United States of America.

Alico, Inc. operates two divisions: Alico Citrus, a citrus producer on its own land and as a manager of citrus groves for third parties, and Land Management and Other Operations, which includes land conservation, encompassing environmental services, land leasing and related support operations.

The Company manages its land based upon its primary usage and reviews its performance based upon two primary classifications - Alico Citrus and Land Management and Other Operations. The Alico Citrus division includes the production, cultivation and sale of citrus on its owned lands and as a manager of citrus groves for third parties. Land Management and Other Operations include leases for grazing rights, hunting leases, a farm lease, a lease to a third party of an aggregate mine, leases of oil extraction rights to third parties, and other miscellaneous operations generating income. Alico presents its financial results and the related discussion based upon its two business segments: (i) Alico Citrus and (ii) Land Management and Other Operations.

Recent Developments

The COVID-19 Pandemic

On March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization declared the current novel coronavirus outbreak (“COVID-19”) to be a global pandemic. In response to this declaration and the rapid spread of COVID-19 within the United States, federal, state and local governments throughout the country have imposed varying degrees of restrictions on social and commercial activity to promote social distancing in an effort to slow the spread of the illness. These measures have had a significant adverse impact upon many sectors of the economy, including certain agriculture businesses.

On November 4, 2021, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“OSHA”) posted an Emergency Temporary Standard (“ETS”) on mandating that all private employers with 100 or more employees ensure their employees are COVID-19 fully vaccinated before entering the employer’s worksite or, at the employer’s option, require employees who remain unvaccinated and want to come to the worksite to wear an approved face covering and produce a negative COVID-19 test at least weekly. Pursuant to the ETS, employers must offer up to four hours of additional paid time off, including travel time, per vaccine dose to allow employees to be vaccinated and reasonable time and paid sick leave to recover from side effects experienced after each vaccine dose. Pursuant to the ETS, the ETS remains in effect for a maximum of six months. This ETS implements President Biden’s COVID-19 Action Plan, which aims to accelerate the pace of COVID-19 vaccinations in the United States.

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Pursuant to the ETS, the ETS is effective immediately upon its publication in the Federal Register. Pursuant to the ETS, employers must comply with most requirements within 30 days of publication (December 5th) and with optional testing requirements within 60 days of publication (January 4th). Employees who have completed their vaccination by that date do not have to be tested, even if they have not yet completed the 2-week waiting period. On November 6, 2021, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals granted an emergency motion to stay enforcement of the ETS, subject to the resolution of ongoing litigation challenging the constitutionality of the ETS. The order enjoins the federal government from taking any action to enforce the ETS while it is in effect. On November 12, 2021, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals reaffirmed its suspension of the ETS and, on November 16, 2021, OSHA announced it suspended its activities related to the implementation and enforcement of the ETS pending future developments in the litigation. It is unknown how long the Fifth Circuit’s stay will remain in place. The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals was selected through the lottery system on November 16, 2021, to hear a consolidated action concerning multiple challenges to the ETS and is authorized to uphold or lift the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals order.

Also, a number of state governments have considered legislation related to employer vaccine mandates during the pandemic. OSHA maintains that its ETS preempts these laws, but states such as the State of Florida disagree. On November 17, 2021, the Florida legislature passed legislation, which was signed into law on November 18, 2021 and codified at section 381.00317, Florida Statutes, prohibiting private-sector employers from implementing a COVID-19 vaccination mandate for full-time, part-time, or contract employees without providing at least five individual exemptions, including, but not limited to, pregnancy or anticipated pregnancy; religious reasons; COVID-19 immunity; periodic testing; and the use of employer-provided personal protective equipment. If an employer fails to comply with the new law and terminates an employee based on a COVID-19 vaccination mandate, then the employer will be subject to a fine of up to $50,000 per violation.

The Company plans to monitor conflicting guidance from the State of Florida and the federal government and adjust its policies in accordance with the resolution of the ongoing litigation in the federal courts.

Since the commencement of COVID-19 in March 2020, the Company took steps to allow and encourage greater separation for our employed and contracted field workers and has worked with its harvesters, haulers and suppliers to minimize interactions. For the continued protection of our employees and in accordance with the OSHA mandate, the Company intends to comply with all requirements as outlined in the ETS that was published on November 4, 2021, to the extent consistent with applicable law.

To date, the Company has experienced no material adverse impacts from this pandemic.

Prepayment and Restructure of Fixed-Rate Term Loans

In April 2021, the Company made a prepayment of $10,312,500 on the Met Fixed-Rate Term Loans and, effective May 1, 2021, the Company modified its Met Fixed-Rate Term Loans, which in the aggregate, after the prepayment, had a balance of $70,000,000 to be interest only with a balloon payment to be paid at maturity, which is November 1, 2029. As part of this modification, the interest rate on these Met Fixed-Rate Term Loans, which were bearing interest at 4.15%, has been adjusted to 3.85% and the Company no longer has the prepayment option previously allowed under the arrangement.

Sales and Purchase of Land

On December 3, 2021, the State of Florida purchased, under the Florida Forever program, approximately 1,638 acres of the Alico Ranch for approximately $5,675,000 pursuant to an option agreement entered into on September 21, 2021 between the State of Florida and the Company.

On June 3, 2021, the Company sold approximately 11,700 acres, which were encumbered by an easement, to a third-party for approximately $12,219,000.  In 2013, these acres were enrolled in the Wetlands Reserve Program (“WRP”), which calls for the restoration and maintenance of the property for the duration of the WRP easement.  As part of that enrollment in 2013, Alico received approximately $1,800 per acre.  

On April 15, 2021, the State of Florida purchased, under the Florida Forever program, approximately 5,734 acres of Alico Ranch for approximately $14,445,000, pursuant to an option agreement between the State of Florida and Alico dated December 15, 2020. This is the third sales transaction we have completed with the State of Florida within the last three years, aggregating over 22,000 acres.  Alico used most of the net sales proceeds to prepay a portion of its fixed-rate term debt.

On October 30, 2020, the Company purchased approximately 3,280 gross acres located in Hendry County for a purchase price of $18,230,000. This acquisition allows the Company to add additional scale to its existing 46,000 gross acres of citrus properties. Strategically, with these acquired groves neighboring existing Alico groves, Alico has continued to realize economy of scale which has allowed Alico to continue to operate as a low-cost, high producing citrus grower.

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Federal Relief Program

The Company was eligible for Hurricane Irma federal relief programs for block grants that were being administered through the State of Florida. During the fiscal years ended September 30, 2020 and 2019, the Company received approximately $4,629,000 and $15,597,000, respectively, under the Florida Citrus Recovery Block Grant (“CRBG”) program. These federal relief proceeds represented Part 1 and Part 2 reimbursement under the program. In the fiscal year ended September 30, 2021, the Company received approximately $4,299,000, representing reimbursement under Part 3 of the program. The remaining portion of the funds that are due to Alico under the Florida CRBG program relates to certain crop insurance expenses incurred by the Company, which is estimated to be approximately $2,000,000.  In October 2021, the Company received its first portion of this crop insurance expense reimbursement in an amount equal to $1,000,000 and expects to receive the remaining portion in fiscal year 2023.

The Land We Manage

We regularly review our land holdings to determine the best use of each parcel based upon our management expertise. Our total return profile is a combination of operating income potential and long-term appreciation. Land holdings not meeting our total return criteria are considered surplus to our operations and efforts are being made to sell such land holdings or to exchange such land holdings for land considered to be more compatible with our business objectives and total return profile, or to lease such land holdings.

Our land holdings and the operating activities in which we engage are categorized in the following table:

Alico Citrus

We own and manage citrus land in DeSoto, Polk, Collier, Hendry, Charlotte, Highlands, and Hardee Counties in the State of Florida and engage in the cultivation of citrus trees to produce citrus for delivery to the fresh and processed citrus markets. Alico citrus groves total approximately 48,852 gross acres or 58.7% of our land holdings. The Company manages approximately 7,400 acres of citrus land on behalf of third-party grove owners in addition to the 48,852 gross acres owned by Alico.

Our citrus acreage is further detailed in the following table:

Of the 48,852 gross acres of citrus land we own and manage 13,599 acres are classified as support and other acreage. Support and other acreage include acres used for roads, barns, water detention, water retention and drainage ditches integral to the cultivation of citrus trees, but which are not capable of directly producing fruit. In addition, we own a small citrus tree nursery of approximately 22 acres and utilize the trees produced in our own operations. The 35,253 remaining acres are classified as net plantable acres. Net plantable acres are those that are capable of directly

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producing fruit. These include acres that are currently producing, acres that are developing (i.e., acres that are planted with trees too young to commercially produce fruit) and acres that are fallow.

In an effort to replace trees lost in Hurricane Irma and increase the density of our citrus groves, Alico has planted approximately 1,500,000 new trees over the past four years. This level of planting has been substantially higher than the normal level of tree attrition. We will continue to evaluate the density throughout our groves and determine the appropriate tree plantings moving forward. Typically, citrus trees become fruit bearing approximately four years after planting and peak around seven to eight years after planting.

Our Alico Citrus business segment cultivates citrus trees to produce citrus for delivery to the processed and fresh citrus markets. Our sales to the processed market were approximately 82.7%, 91.0%, and 95.0% of Alico Citrus revenues for the fiscal years ended September 30, 2021, 2020 and 2019, respectively. The overall decrease in sales to processed markets as a percentage of citrus revenues was due to an agreement entered into on July 16, 2020 with an affiliated group of third parties to provide citrus grove caretaking and harvest and haul management services (“Grove Management Services”) for approximately 7,000 acres owned by such third parties. Under the terms of this agreement, the Company is reimbursed by the third parties for all its costs incurred related to providing these Grove Management Services and receives a management fee based on acres covered under this agreement. The Company records both an increase in revenues and expenses as and when the Company provides these Grove Management Services. For the fiscal year ended September 30, 2021, under this agreement, the Company recorded approximately $15,752,000 of operating revenue relating to these Grove Management Services, including the management fee. Excluding these revenues for these citrus grove caretaking and harvest and haul management services, revenue to processed markets represents approximately 97.1% of total citrus revenues.

The average pound solids per box was 5.66, 5.96, and 5.91, for the fiscal years ended September 30, 2021, 2020 and 2019, respectively.

We generally use multi-year contracts with citrus processors that include pricing structures based on a floor and ceiling price. Therefore, if pricing in the market is favorable relative to our floor price, we benefit from the incremental difference between the floor and the final market price to the extent it does not exceed the ceiling price.

Our citrus produced for the processed citrus market in fiscal year 2021 under our largest agreement was subject to floor prices and ceiling prices. Under this agreement, if the market price was below the floor prices or exceeded the ceiling prices, then 50% of the shortfall or excess was deducted from the floor price or added to the ceiling price. Under our next largest agreement, our citrus produced is subject to a minimum floor price and maximum ceiling price and is based on a cost-plus structure.

On each of May 18, 2020 and May 20, 2020, the Company entered into two new agreements to supply Tropicana, its largest customer, with citrus fruit. These new agreements were effective October 1, 2020, expire on July 31, 2024, and succeeded our existing largest agreement with this customer which expired at the end of September 2020.

Although we believe other markets and customers are available for our citrus products, we also believe that new arrangements in these other markets or with other customers may be less favorable than our current contracts.  

Our sales to the fresh citrus market constituted approximately 0.6%, 2.6%, and 3.0% of our Alico Citrus revenues for the fiscal years ended September 30, 2021, 2020 and 2019, respectively. We produce numerous varieties for the fresh fruit market including grapefruit, navel and other fresh varieties. Generally, our fresh fruit is sold to packing houses by the box and the packing houses are responsible for the harvest and haul of these boxes. We produced approximately 61,000, 267,000, and 210,000 fresh fruit boxes for each of the fiscal years ended September 30, 2021, 2020 and 2019, respectively.

On July 16, 2020, the Company executed an agreement with an affiliated group of third parties to provide citrus grove caretaking and harvest and haul management services (“Grove Management Services”) for approximately 7,000 acres owned by such third parties. Under the terms of the agreement, the Company is reimbursed by the third parties for all of its costs incurred related to providing these services and also is to receive a management fee based on acres covered under this agreement. In August 2021, the third party purchased approximately 900 acres, which will be in addition to the acres currently receiving Grove Management Services. The Company, prior to this agreement, was already providing Grove Management Services to several small third-party grove owners on acres within the Company’s groves and continues to provide such services. Revenues generated from our Grove Management Services were approximately 16.1%, 5.1%, and 1.1% of our total citrus revenues for the fiscal years ended September 30, 2021, 2020 and 2019, respectively.

On October 30, 2020, the Company purchased approximately 3,280 gross acres located in Hendry County for a purchase price of $18,230,000. This acquisition allows the Company to add additional scale to its existing 46,000 gross acres of citrus properties. Strategically, with these acquired groves neighboring existing Alico groves, Alico believes that this acquisition will help Alico with its operation designed to be a low-cost, high producing citrus grower.

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Revenues from our Alico Citrus operations were approximately 97.5%, 96.6%, and 97.4% of our total operating revenues for the fiscal years ended September 30, 2021, 2020 and 2019, respectively.

Land Management and Other Operations

We own and manage land in Collier, Glades, and Hendry Counties and are engaged in land leasing for recreational and grazing purposes, conservation, and mining activities. Our Land Management and Other Operations land holdings total 34,425 gross acres, or 41.3% of our total acreage.

Our Land Management and Other Operations acreage is detailed in the following table as of September 30, 2021:

On June 3, 2021, the Company sold approximately 11,700 acres, which were encumbered by an easement, to a third-party for approximately $12,219,000.  In 2013, these acres were enrolled in the Wetlands Reserve Program (“WRP”), which calls for the restoration and maintenance of the property for the duration of the WRP easement.  As part of that enrollment in 2013, Alico received approximately $1,800 per acre.  

On April 15, 2021, the State of Florida purchased, under the Florida Forever program, approximately 5,734 acres of Alico Ranch for approximately $14,445,000, pursuant to an option agreement between the State of Florida and Alico dated December 15, 2020. This is the third sales transaction we have completed with the State of Florida within the last three years, aggregating over 22,000 acres, including the September 2020 sale described below.  Alico used most of the net sales proceeds to prepay a portion of its fixed-rate term debt.

On September 10, 2020, the Company sold approximately 10,700 acres on the western part of Alico Ranch to the State of Florida. Because the acres involved in the sale would have been critical to our planned dispersed water storage project, the Company has decided to no longer pursue permit approval activities for this project from that point forward. As a result of this decision to no longer pursue permit approval activities for this project, the Company has renamed this segment Land Management and Other Operations to better reflect the components of this segment. The Company did not ever get to the point where it was generating any revenue from the dispersed water storage project and incurred expenses of $0, $1,346,000, and $1,206,000 for the fiscal years ended September 30, 2021, 2020 and 2019, respectively.

On March 27, 2020, the Company sold certain sections at the East Ranch for approximately $2,980,000 and realized a gain of approximately $2,748,000. The Company subsequently used substantially all of the net cash proceeds to purchase a like-kind asset in May 2020, which has allowed the Company to defer substantially all of the tax impact of the gain on sale of this ranch land.

Revenues from Land Management and Other Operations were approximately 2.5%, 3.4%, and 2.6% of total operating revenues for the fiscal years ended September 30, 2021, 2020 and 2019, respectively.

Our Strategy

Our core business strategy is to maximize stockholder value through continuously improving the return on our invested capital, either by holding and managing our existing land through skilled agricultural production, leasing, or other opportunistic means of monetization, disposing of under productive land or business units and acquiring new land or operations with appreciation potential.

Our objectives are to produce the highest quality agricultural products, create innovative land uses, opportunistically acquire and convert undervalued assets, sell under-productive land and other assets not meeting our total return profile, generate recurring and sustainable profit with the appropriate balance of risk and reward, and exceed the expectations of stockholder, customers, clients and partners.

Our strategy is based on best management practices of our agricultural operations and the environmental and conservation stewardship of our land and natural resources. We try to manage our land in a sustainable manner and evaluate the effect of changing land uses while considering new opportunities. Our commitment to environmental stewardship is fundamental to the Company’s core beliefs.

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Intellectual Property

While we consider our various intellectual property to be valued assets, we do not believe that our competitive position or our operations are dependent upon or would be materially impacted by any single piece of intellectual property or group of related intellectual property registrations or rights.

Seasonal Nature of Business

As with any agribusiness enterprise, our agribusiness operations and revenues are predominantly seasonal in nature. The following table illustrates the seasonality of our agribusiness revenues:

Significant Customers

Revenue from Tropicana represented approximately 77.5%, 86.9%, and 88.6% of our consolidated revenue for the fiscal years ended September 30, 2021, 2020 and 2019, respectively. The revenue in fiscal year 2021 from Tropicana was generated primarily from two separate contracts. This revenue was generated from the sale of our citrus product in the processed market. No other single customer provided more than 10% of our consolidated revenue in fiscal years 2021, 2020 or 2019.

The overall decrease in Tropicana revenue as a percentage of sales was expected, attributable to an increase in overall sales generated from an agreement entered into in July 2020 with an affiliated group of third parties to provide citrus grove caretaking and harvest and haul management services for approximately 7,000 acres owned by such third parties. Under the terms of this agreement, the Company is reimbursed by the third parties for all its costs incurred related to providing these services and receives a management fee based on acres covered under this agreement. The Company records both an increase in sales revenue and an increase in expenses as and when the Company provides these citrus grove caretaking management services. Revenue from Tropicana represents approximately 90.1% of total revenues for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2021.

Competition

The orange and specialty citrus markets are intensely competitive, but no single producer has any significant market power over any market segments, as is consistent with the production of most agricultural commodities. Citrus is grown domestically in several states including Florida, California, Arizona and Texas, as well as foreign countries, most notably Brazil and Mexico. Competition is impacted by several factors including quality, production, demand, brand recognition, market prices, weather, disease, export/import restrictions and foreign currency exchange rates.

Environmental, Social and Governance (“ESG”)

Alico is an agricultural company which, based upon its rich heritage and traditions, seeks not only to maximize value for its customers and stockholders, but also to enhance its legacy by employing sustainable practices in all aspects of operations including stewardship of both its natural and human resources. The Company recognizes the increased emphasis by stockholders, business partners and other key constituents in recent years on ESG programs that are embedded into day-to-day business policies and practices. The Company is proud of its commitment to doing the right thing for communities, the environment, and its employees.

Governmental Regulations

Our operations are subject to various federal, state and local laws regulating the discharge of materials into the environment. Management believes we are in material compliance with all such rules including permitting and reporting requirements. Historically, compliance with environmental regulations has not had a material impact on our financial position, results of operations or cash flows.

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Management monitors environmental legislation and requirements and makes every reasonable effort to remain in compliance with such regulations. In addition, we require in our leases that lessees of our property comply with environmental regulations as a condition of leasing.

We are subject to other laws of the United States and the rules and regulations of various governing bodies within the United States, which may differ among jurisdictions. Compliance with these laws, rules and regulation has not had, and is not expected to have, a material effect on our capital expenditures, results of operations and competitive position as compared to prior periods.

Human Capital Management

Purpose and Company Values

Supporting our people is a fundamental value for Alico. We believe the Company’s success depends on its ability to attract, develop and retain key personnel. The skills, experience and industry knowledge of our employees and the employees of our independent contractors significantly benefit our operations and performance. The Company's management oversees various employee initiatives and also monitors the effectiveness of the personnel provided by independent contractors with which we contract for certain harvesting and hauling services.

Employees

We believe in a culture of equity, diversity and inclusion. We are also committed to advancing safe and respectful work environments where our employees are invited to bring their talents, backgrounds and expertise to bear on the success of our business and where every person has the opportunity to thrive personally and professionally.

Hiring, Development and Retention

Employee levels are managed to align with the pace of business and takes into account the services that are performed for us by our independent contractors. We rely on our independent contractors to manage their respective employee levels so that the harvesting and hauling services they are obligated to perform for us are consistent with the contractual obligations of these independent contractors and enable us to satisfy our harvesting and hauling needs. Management believes that through its own employees, coupled with the human capital supplied by its independent contractors, it has sufficient human capital to operate its business successfully. Management believes that the Company's employee relations are favorable, that its relations with its independent contractors is favorable, and that the relations that the independent contractors and the Company have with the employees of the independent contractors is favorable.

Employee Safety and Well-Being

Health and safety in the workplace for our employees and personnel provided by independent contractors with which we contract is one of the Company’s core values. Hazards in the workplace are actively identified and management tracks incidents so remedial actions can be taken to improve workplace safety. In order to support and enhance health and safety practices, the Company routinely conducts safety training with employees to emphasize safety when conducting grove caretaking, general employee health, proper equipment operating techniques, office ergonomics and other important safety topics. The COVID-19 pandemic has underscored for us the importance of keeping our employees and the personnel provided by independent contractors safe and healthy. In response to the pandemic, the Company has taken actions aligned with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to protect its workforce so that its workforce can more safely and effectively perform their work.

Inclusion and Diversity

People are critical to our efforts to drive growth and deliver value for stockholders. One of the ways we have put people at the center is by continuing to work toward a more inclusive and diverse workplace where each person feels respected, valued and seen and can be the best version of themselves – from women and ethnic employees to veterans, among others. With employees, management and directors representing the diversity around the world, the Company can access stronger insights into different cultures and backgrounds, which ultimately helps the Company to better operate the business.

As of September 30, 2021, ethnically diverse employees represent 69% of the Company’s Citrus operations, 27% of Corporate, General, Administrative and Other. Women made up 50% of the Company’s Corporate, General, Administrative and Other and 16% of the Company’s Citrus operations. On August 6, 2020, the Board of Directors of the Company increased the size of the Board to nine and appointed Ms. Katherine English as a director to serve on (i) the Compensation Committee and (ii) the Nominating and Governance Committee. Ms. English’s appointment is part of the Company’s commitment to promote diversity and inclusion.

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Based on our Inclusion and Diversity strategy, the Company promotes a greater sense of inclusion through a variety of initiatives, which includes a Company-wide women’s group to promote mentoring, career advancement, training, comradery, and empowerment.

Compensation and Benefits

Our compensation and benefits are designed to support the financial, mental, and physical well-being of our employees. We are committed to equal pay for equal work, regardless of gender, race, ethnicity, or other personal characteristics. We believe our base wages and salaries, which we review annually, are fair and competitive with the external labor markets in which our employees work. We also regularly review our compensation practices to promote fair and equitable pay. We also offer competitive benefit programs, in line with local practices and with the flexibility to accommodate the needs of a diverse workforce. The benefit programs include, among others, paid holidays, family leave, disability insurance, life insurance, healthcare, and a 401(k) plan with a company match. As of September 30, 2021, we had 222 full-time employees. Our employees work in the following divisions:

None of our employees are subject to a collective bargaining agreement. We believe that our relations with our employees are good.

Workforce Housing

We own and maintain 37 residential housing units located in various counties in Florida that we lease to employees and former employees. Our residential units provide affordable housing to many of our employees, including our agribusiness employees. Employees live close to their work, which reduces traffic and commuting times. This unique employment benefit helps us maintain a dependable, long-term employee base.

Capital Resources and Raw Materials

Management believes that the Company will be able to meet its working capital requirements for at least the next 12 months, and over the long term, through internally generated funds, cash flows from operations, the sale of under-productive land and other assets, our existing lines of credit and access to capital markets. The Company has commitments that provide for lines of revolving credit that are available for our general and corporate use.

Raw materials needed to cultivate the various crops grown by the Company consist primarily of fertilizers, herbicides, insecticides and fuel and are readily available from local suppliers.

Societal Well-Being

The Company remains committed to a healthy and equitable society to ensure our collective well-being for future generations. In the past year, we provided cash grants and supporting donations to support our communities and promote health and safety, education, and justice.

Available Information

We will provide electronic copies of our SEC filings free of charge upon request. Additionally, our reports, amendments thereto, proxy statements and other information are also made available, free of charge, on our investor relations website at ir.alicoinc.com as soon as reasonably practicable after we electronically file or furnish such information with the SEC. Any information posted on or linked from our website is not incorporated by reference in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. The SEC also maintains a website at http://www.sec.gov, which contains annual, quarterly and current reports, proxy and information statements and other information regarding issuers that file electronically with the SEC.

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Item 1A. Risk Factors

Our business and results of operations are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond our control.  The following is a description of key known factors that we believe may materially affect our business, financial condition, results of operations or cash flows.  They should be considered carefully, in addition to the information set forth elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, including Item 7, Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations and Item 8, Financial Statements and Supplementary Data, including the related Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements in making any investment decisions with respect to our securities.  Additional risks or uncertainties that are not currently known to us that we currently deem to be immaterial or that could apply to any company could also materially adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations or cash flows.

Risks Related to our Business

The currently evolving situation related to the COVID-19 pandemic could adversely affect the Company’s business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, including the emergence of variants for which vaccines may not be effective, may negatively affect our business by causing or contributing to, among other things:

Potential negative impacts of the pandemic include, but are not limited to, the following:

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Our business operations could be affected by government mandates, including the Emergency Temporary Standard (“ETS”) posted by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“OSHA”) on November 4, 2021.

The ETS requires employers such as the Company to offer up to four hours of additional paid time off, including travel time, per vaccine dose to allow employees to be vaccinated and reasonable time and paid sick leave to recover from side effects experienced after each vaccine dose. As noted above, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals granted an emergency motion to stay the enforcement of the ETS, subject to the resolution of ongoing litigation challenging the constitutionality of the ETS, and, shortly thereafter, OSHA announced it suspended its activities related to the implementation and enforcement of the ETS pending future developments in the litigation. Also, Florida, and other states have passed laws that may conflict with the ETS. For instance, section 381.00317, Florida Statutes, (i) prohibits private-sector employers from implementing a COVID-19 vaccination mandate without providing certain exemptions and (ii) fines employers who improperly discharge employees up to $50,000 per violation. As a company with more than 100 employees, the vaccination and testing requirements will likely be applicable to us and our workforce, and we will be forced to navigate between any conflicts between state and federal law. These requirements could result in increased costs and legal fees. Additionally, our efforts to comply with these mandates, including requiring that some or all of our employees be fully vaccinated against COVID-19, could result in increased labor attrition and disruption, as well as difficulty securing future labor needs. Similarly, the efforts of our independent contractor service providers to comply with these mandates, including requiring that some or all of their employees be fully vaccinated against COVID-19, could result in them experiencing increased labor attrition and disruption, as well as difficulty securing future labor needs. If we or our independent contractor service providers were to lose employees (such as contracted field workers in the case of our independent contractor service providers) and not be able to replace them, it could adversely affect our business operations. The legality and effects of the ETS and any future mandates by state and federal governmental authorities related to COVID-19 are currently uncertain, and we cannot predict the extent to which it could adversely affect our results of operations, financial condition or prospects.

Our business operations could be significantly harmed by natural disasters or global epidemics.

Our business could be adversely affected by natural disasters such as pandemics, epidemics, outbreaks or other health crisis. An outbreak of avian flu or H1N1 flu in the human population, or another similar health crisis, such as the current COVID-19 pandemic referred to above, could adversely affect economies and financial markets, particularly those in the United States. Moreover, any related disruptions to transportation or the free movement of persons could hamper our operations and force us to close our offices temporarily.

The occurrence of any of the foregoing or other natural or man-made disasters could cause damage or disruption to us, our employees, operations, markets and customers, which could result in significant delays in deliveries or substantial shortages of our products and adversely affect our business results of operations, financial condition or prospects.

Adverse weather conditions, natural disasters and other natural conditions, including the effects of climate change, could impose significant costs and losses on our business.

Fresh produce is vulnerable to adverse weather conditions, including windstorms, floods, drought and temperature extremes, which are quite common and may occur with higher frequency or be less predictable in the future due to the effects of climate change. Unfavorable growing conditions can reduce both crop size and crop quality. In extreme cases, entire harvests may be lost in some geographic areas. Citrus groves are subject to damage from frost and freezes, and this has happened periodically in the recent past, including most recently the impact from Hurricane Irma. In some cases, the fruit is damaged or ruined; in the case of extended periods of cold, the trees can also be damaged or killed. These factors can increase costs, decrease revenues and lead to additional charges to earnings, which may have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition and cash flows.

Our citrus groves are subject to damage and loss from disease including but not limited to citrus greening and citrus canker which could negatively impact our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

Our citrus groves are subject to damage and loss from diseases such as citrus greening and citrus canker. Each of these diseases is widespread in Florida and exists in our citrus groves and in the areas where our citrus groves are located. The success of our citrus business is directly related to the viability and health of our citrus groves.

Citrus greening is one of the most serious citrus plant diseases in the world. Once a tree is infected, its productivity generally decreases. While the disease poses no threat to humans or animals, it has devastated citrus crops throughout the United States and abroad. Named for its green, misshapen fruit, citrus greening disease has now killed millions of citrus plants in the southeastern United States and has spread across the entire country. Infected trees produce fruits that are green, misshapen and bitter, unsuitable for sale as fresh fruit or for juice. Infected trees can die within a few years. At the present time, there is no known cure for citrus greening once trees have become infected. Primarily, as a result of citrus greening, orange production in the State of Florida has continued to drop.

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Citrus canker is a disease affecting citrus species and is caused by a bacterium which is spread by contact with infected trees or by windblown transmission. There is no known cure for citrus canker at present although some management practices, including the use of copper-based bactericides, can mitigate its spread and lessen its effect on infected trees; however, there is no assurance that currently available technologies will control such disease effectively.

Both of these diseases pose a significant threat to the Florida citrus industry and to our citrus groves. While we try to use best management practices to attempt to control diseases and their spread, there can be no assurance that our mitigation efforts will be successful. These diseases can significantly increase our costs which could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows. Our citrus groves produce the significant majority of our annual operating revenues. A significant reduction in available citrus from our citrus groves could decrease our operating revenues and materially adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

Our citrus groves are geographically concentrated in Florida and the effects of adverse weather conditions including hurricanes and tropical storms could adversely affect our results of operations, financial position and cash flows.

Our citrus operations are concentrated in central and south Florida with our groves located in parcels in DeSoto, Polk, Collier, Hendry, Charlotte, Highlands, and Hardee Counties. Because our groves are located in close proximity to each other, the impact of adverse weather conditions may be material to our results of operations, financial position and cash flows. Florida is particularly susceptible to the occurrence of hurricanes and tropical storms. Depending on where any particular hurricane or tropical storm makes landfall, our properties could experience significant, if not catastrophic damage. Hurricanes and tropical storms have the potential to destroy crops and impact citrus production through the loss of fruit and destruction of trees and/or plants either as a result of high winds or through the spread of windblown disease. Such damage could materially affect our citrus operations and could result in a loss of operating revenues from those products for a multi-year period. We seek to minimize hurricane risk by the purchase of insurance contracts, but the majority of our crops remain uninsured. In addition to hurricanes and tropical storms, the occurrence of other natural disasters and climate conditions in Florida, such as tornadoes, floods, freezes, unusually heavy or prolonged rain, droughts and heat waves, could have a material adverse effect on our operations and our ability to realize income from our crops or properties.

A significant portion of our revenues are derived from our citrus business and any adverse event affecting such business could disproportionately harm our business.

Our revenues from our citrus business were approximately 97.5%, 96.6%, and 97.4% of our operating revenues in fiscal years 2021, 2020 and 2019, respectively. Our citrus division is one of the largest citrus producers in the United States and because of the significance of the revenues derived from this business, we are more vulnerable to adverse events or market conditions affecting our citrus business, in particular, or the citrus business, generally, which could have a significant adversely impact on our overall results of operations, financial condition and cash flows.

Our failure to effectively perform grove management functions or to effectively manage an expanded portfolio of groves could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition, and results of operations.

Recently, we have significantly expanded the number of grove acres that we are managing for third parties. If we are unable to effectively perform grove management services for both our own groves and the groves owned by third parties at the level and/or the cost that we expect, or if we were to fail to allocate sufficient resources to meet the grove management of our own groves and the groves owned by these third parties, it could adversely affect our performance and reputation. Our ability to perform the grove management services will be affected by various factors, including, among other things, our ability to maintain sufficient personnel and retain key personnel, the ability of the independent contractors whom we engage to assist in providing these services to maintain sufficient personnel and retain key personnel, and the number of acres and groves that we will manage. Increases in the number of acres and groves we are managing have required us to hire a greater number of additional qualified personnel and have required the independent contractors whom we engage to assist in providing these services to maintain a greater number of additional qualified personnel to provide those services. No assurance can be made that we will continue to be successful in attracting and retaining skilled personnel or in integrating any new personnel into our organization or that the independent contractors whom we engage to assist in providing these services will continue to be successful in attracting and retaining skilled personnel or in integrating any new personnel into their respective organizations.

Our business is highly competitive and we cannot assure you that we will maintain our current market share.

Many companies compete in our different businesses and offer products that are similar to our products or are direct competitors to our products. We face strong competition from these and other companies engaged in the agricultural product business.

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Important factors with respect to our competitors include the following:

There can be no assurance that we will continue to compete effectively with our present and future competitors, and our ability to compete could be materially adversely affected by our debt levels and debt service requirements.

We depend on our relationship with Tropicana and Tropicana’s relationship with certain third parties for a significant portion of our business. Any disruption in these relationships could harm our revenue. Additionally, if certain criteria are not met under one of our contracts with Tropicana, we could experience a significant reduction in revenues and cash flows.

The Company's contracts with Tropicana accounted for 77.5%, 86.9%, and 88.6% of the Company's revenues in fiscal years 2021, 2020 and 2019, respectively. The revenue for Tropicana is primarily generated from two contracts. Should there be any change in our current relationship structure, whereby they do not buy our oranges, we would need to find replacement buyers to purchase our remaining crop, which could take time and expense and may result in less favorable terms of sale. The loss of Tropicana as a customer or significant reduction in business with Tropicana may cause a material adverse impact to our financial position, results of operations and cash flows. Additionally, the affiliated group of third parties for whom the Company provides grove caretaking and harvest and haul management services sells a significant portion of its crop to Tropicana. If there was a change in that group’s relationship with Tropicana, whereby Tropicana did not buy their oranges, then that group would need to find replacement buyers of its citrus, and, if that group was unable to find replacement buyers, then the group might be challenged in satisfying its obligations to the Company, which might have a material adverse impact on our financial position, results of operations and cash flows.

With the sale of a majority of ownership of Tropicana to a French private equity firm, there is some heightened risk and uncertainty in our current relationship with Tropicana, which potentially could result in a significant reduction in revenues and cash flows if that relationship were to be changed as a result.

With the sale of a majority ownership of Tropicana by PepsiCo to a French private equity firm (the “Firm”), there is some heightened risk and uncertainty in our current relationship with Tropicana, which potentially could result in a significant reduction in revenues and cash flows if that relationship were to be changed as a result. The Company currently has citrus supply contracts with Tropicana that expire in both 2023 and 2024, with the majority expiring in 2024. If the Firm caused Tropicana to reduce the volume of oranges purchased from us and/or purchased from owners of groves that we manage, we would need to find, and/or the owners of groves that we manage would need to find or work with us to find, replacement buyers to purchase any remaining crop of our and/or of the owners of the groves we manage, which could take time and expense and may result in less favorable terms of sale. The loss of Tropicana as a customer or significant reduction in business with Tropicana for us and/or for the owners of the groves we manage may cause a material adverse impact to our financial position, results of operations and cash flows.

Our agricultural products are subject to supply and demand pricing which is not predictable.

Agricultural operations traditionally provide almost all of our operating revenues with citrus being the largest portion and are subject to supply and demand pricing. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to Nielsen data, consumer demand for orange juice had decreased significantly to its lowest level in almost a decade; however, we have been able to offset the impact of such decline with higher prices based on a lower supply of available oranges. Although the demand for orange juice has increased during the COVID-19 pandemic, it is uncertain as to whether such increased demand can be maintained, whether we will see a return to a decline in the future and whether, if there were to be such a decline, the impact could be again offset by higher prices. In particular, although our processed citrus is subject to minimum pricing, we are unable to predict with certainty the final price we will receive for our products. In some instances, the harvest and growth cycle will dictate when such products must be marketed which may or may not be advantageous in obtaining the best price. Excessive supplies tend to cause severe price competition and lower prices for the commodity affected. Limited supply of certain agricultural commodities due to world and domestic market conditions can cause commodity prices to rise in certain situations.

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If we are unable to successfully develop and execute our strategic growth initiatives, or if they do not adequately address the challenges or opportunities we face, our business, financial condition and prospects may be adversely affected.

Our success is dependent, in part, on our ability to identify, develop and execute appropriate strategic growth initiatives that will enable us to achieve sustainable growth in the long term. The implementation of our strategic initiatives is subject to both the risks affecting our business generally and the inherent risks associated with implementing new strategies. These strategic initiatives may not be successful in generating revenues or improving operating profit and, if they are, it may take longer than anticipated. As a result, and depending on evolving conditions and opportunities, we may need to adjust our strategic initiatives and such changes could be substantial, including modifying or terminating one or more of such initiatives. Termination of such initiatives may require us to write down or write off the value of our investments in them. Transition and changes in our strategic initiatives may also create uncertainty in our employees, customers and partners that could adversely affect our business and revenues. In addition, we may incur higher than expected or unanticipated costs in implementing our strategic initiatives, attempting to attract revenue opportunities or changing our strategies. There can be no assurance that the implementation of any strategic growth initiative will be successful, and we may not realize anticipated benefits at levels we project or at all, which would adversely affect our business, financial condition and prospects.

We are subject to the risk of product contamination and product liability claims.

The sale of agricultural products for human consumption involves the risk of injury to consumers. Such injuries may result from tampering by unauthorized third parties, product contamination or spoilage, including the presence of foreign objects, substances, chemicals, other agents, or residues introduced during the growing, storage, handling or transportation phases. While we are subject to governmental inspection and regulations and believe our facilities comply in all material respects with all applicable laws and regulations, we cannot be sure that our agricultural products will not cause a health-related illness in the future or that we will not be subject to claims or lawsuits relating to such matters. Even if a product liability claim is unsuccessful or is not fully pursued, the negative publicity surrounding any assertion that our products caused illness or injury could adversely affect our reputation with existing and potential customers and our corporate and brand image. Moreover, claims or liabilities of this sort might not be covered or fully covered by our insurance or by any rights of indemnity or contribution that we may have against others. We maintain product liability insurance; however, we cannot be sure that we will not incur claims or liabilities for which we are not insured or that exceed the amount of our insurance coverage.

Our agricultural operations are subject to water use regulations restricting our access to water.

Our operations are dependent upon the availability of adequate surface and underground water. The availability of water is regulated by the state of Florida through water management districts which have jurisdiction over various geographic regions in which our lands are located. Currently, we have permits in place for the next 15 to 20 years for the use of underground and surface water which are believed to be adequate for our agricultural needs.

Surface water in Hendry County, where much of our agricultural land is located, comes from Lake Okeechobee via the Caloosahatchee River and a system of canals used to irrigate such land. The Army Corps of Engineers controls the level of Lake Okeechobee and ultimately determines the availability of surface water even though the use of water has been permitted by the state of Florida through the water management district. The Army Corps of Engineers decided in 2010 to lower the permissible level of Lake Okeechobee in response to concerns about the ability of the levee surrounding the lake to restrain rising waters which could result from hurricanes. Changes in availability of surface water use may result during times of drought, because of lower lake levels and could materially adversely affect our agricultural operations, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

Changes in immigration laws could impact our ability to harvest our crops.

We engage third parties to provide personnel for our harvesting operations. The availability and number of such workers is subject to decrease if there are changes in the U.S. immigration laws. Immigration reform and enforcement has been attracting significant attention from the U.S. Government (particularly in the current U.S. administration and U.S. Congress), with enforcement operations taking place across the country, resulting in arrests and detentions of unauthorized workers. It remains unclear how the next U.S. administration will approach immigration reform and enforcement. However, if new immigration legislation is enacted in the U.S. and/or if enforcement actions are taken against available personnel, such legislation and/or enforcement activities may contain provisions that could significantly reduce the number and availability of workers. Termination of a significant number of personnel who might be found to be unauthorized workers or the scarcity of other available personnel to harvest our agricultural products could cause harvesting costs to increase or could lead to the loss of product that is not timely harvested which could have a material adverse effect to our citrus grove business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

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Our acquisition of additional agricultural assets and other businesses could pose risks.

We seek to opportunistically acquire new agricultural assets from time to time that we believe would complement our business. For example, (i) in fiscal year 2015, we acquired three Florida citrus properties, including Orange-Co and Silver Nip Citrus, which resulted in our citrus division being one of the largest citrus producers in the United States, and (ii) in October 2020 we acquired another Florida citrus property. While we expect that our past and future acquisitions will successfully complement our business, we may fail to realize all of the anticipated benefits of these acquisitions, which could reduce our anticipated results. We cannot assure that we will be able to successfully identify suitable acquisition opportunities, negotiate appropriate acquisition terms, or obtain any financing that may be needed to consummate such acquisitions or complete proposed acquisitions. Acquisitions by us could result in accounting changes, potentially dilutive issuances of equity securities, increased debt and contingent liabilities, reduce the amount of cash available for dividends, debt service payments, integration issues and diversion of management’s attention, any of which could adversely affect our business, results of operations, financial condition, and cash flows. We may be unable to successfully realize the financial, operational, and other benefits we anticipate from our acquisitions and our failure to do so could adversely affect our business, results of operations, financial condition and cash flows.

Dispositions of our assets may adversely affect our future results of operations.

We also routinely evaluate the benefits of disposing of certain of our assets which could include the exit from lines of business. For example, in November of 2014, we sold significant sugarcane assets and we are no longer involved in the sugarcane business and, in January of 2018, we sold our breeding herd and no longer engage in cattle operations. Most recently, we sold certain ranch acres to the State of Florida and because these acres would have been critically important for carrying out the Company’s planned dispersed water storage project, the Company is no longer pursuing permit approval relating to this dispersed water storage project. While such dispositions increase the amount of cash available to us, it could also (i) result in a potential loss of significant operating revenues and income streams that we might not be able to replace, (ii) make our business less diversified and (iii) could ultimately have a negative impact on our results of operations, financial condition and cash flows.

Harm to the Company’s reputation could have an adverse effect on the business, financial condition and results of operations.

Maintaining a strong reputation with fruit processors and third-party partners is critical to the success of the Company’s business. The Company devotes significant time and resources to training programs, relating to, among other things, ethics, compliance and product safety and quality, as well as sustainability goals, and has published ESG goals (i.e., environmental, sustainability and governance), including relating to environmental impact and sustainability and inclusion and diversity, as part of its ESG Strategy. Despite these efforts, the Company may not be successful in achieving its goals, might provide materially inaccurate information, or might receive negative publicity about the Company, including relating to product safety, quality, efficacy, ESG or similar issues, whether real or perceived, and reputational damage could occur. In addition, the Company’s products could face withdrawal, recall or other quality issues, which could lead to decreased demand for the Company’s products or services and reputational damage.

Widespread use of social media and networking sites by consumers has greatly increased the accessibility and speed of dissemination of information. Negative publicity, posts or comments about the Company, whether accurate or inaccurate, or disclosure of non-public sensitive information about the Company, could be widely disseminated through the use of social media or in other formats.

If a transaction intended to qualify as a Section 1031 Exchange is later determined to be taxable, we may face adverse consequences, and if the laws applicable to such transactions are amended or repealed, we may not be able to dispose of properties in the future on a tax deferred basis.

From time to time we dispose of properties in transactions that are intended to qualify as Section 1031 Exchanges under the federal income tax law. It is possible that the qualification of a transaction as a Section 1031 Exchange could be successfully challenged and determined to be currently taxable and we could also be required to pay interest and penalties. As a result, we may be required to borrow funds in order to pay additional income taxes, and the payment of such taxes could cause us to have less cash available. Moreover, it is possible that legislation could be enacted that could modify or repeal the laws with respect to Section 1031 Exchanges, which could make it more difficult or not possible for us to dispose of properties in the future on a tax deferred basis.

We may undertake one or more significant corporate transactions that may not achieve their intended results, may adversely affect our financial condition and our results of operations or result in unforeseeable risks to our business.

We continuously evaluate the acquisition or disposition of operating businesses and assets and may in the future undertake one or more significant transactions. Any such acquisitive transaction could be material to our business and could take any number of forms, including mergers, acquisitions, joint ventures and the purchase of equity interests. The consideration for such acquisitive transactions may include, among other things, cash, common stock or equity interests in the Company or our subsidiaries, or a contribution of property or equipment to obtain equity interests, and in conjunction with a transaction we might incur additional indebtedness. We also routinely evaluate the benefits of disposing of certain assets. Such dispositions could take the form of asset sales, mergers or sales of equity interests.

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These transactions may present significant risks such as insufficient assets to offset liabilities assumed, potential loss of significant operating revenues and income streams, increased or unexpected expenses, inadequate return of capital, regulatory or compliance issues, the triggering of certain financial covenants in our debt instruments (including accelerated repayment) and unidentified issues not discovered in due diligence. In addition, such transactions could distract management from current operations. As a result of the risks inherent in such transactions, we cannot guarantee that any such transaction will ultimately result in the realization of its anticipated benefits or that it will not have a material adverse impact on our business, financial condition, results of operations or cash flows. If we were to complete such an acquisition, disposition, investment or other strategic transaction, we may require additional debt or equity financing that could result in a significant increase in our amount of debt and our debt service obligations or the number of outstanding shares of our common stock, thereby diluting holders of our common stock outstanding prior to such acquisition.

Our citrus business is seasonal.

Our citrus groves produce the majority of our annual operating revenues and the citrus business is seasonal because it is tied to the growing and picking seasons. Historically, the second and third quarters of our fiscal year generally produce the majority of our annual revenues, and our working capital requirements are typically greater in the first and fourth quarters of our fiscal year coinciding with our planting cycles. Because of the seasonality of our business, results for any quarter are not necessarily indicative of the results that may be achieved for the full fiscal year or in future quarters. If our operating revenues in the second and third quarters are lower than expected, it would have a disproportionately large adverse impact on our annual operating results.

We face significant competition in our agricultural operations.

We face significant competition in our agricultural operations both from domestic and foreign producers and do not have any branded products. Foreign growers generally have an equal or lower cost of production, less environmental regulation and in some instances, greater resources and market flexibility than us. Because foreign growers have greater flexibility as to when they enter the U.S. market, we cannot always predict the impact these competitors will have on our business and results of operations. The competition we face from certain foreign suppliers of orange juice is mitigated by a governmentally imposed tariff on orange imports. Accordingly, a reduction in the government’s orange juice tariff could adversely impact our results of operations.

Our earnings are sensitive to fluctuations in market supply and prices and demand for our products.

Excess supplies often cause severe price competition in our industry. Growing conditions in various parts of the world, particularly weather conditions such as windstorms, floods, droughts and freezes, as well as diseases and pests, are primary factors affecting market prices because of their influence on the supply and quality of product.

Fresh produce is highly perishable and generally must be brought to market and sold soon after harvest. Many of the items involved in our business, such as oranges, must be sold more quickly than other produce our competitors may produce, such as lemons. As such, our competitors may be able to maintain certain items they produce in inventory for longer periods than we are able to maintain our inventory which may offer our competitors strategic advantages when they respond to fluctuations in market supply and demand that are not available to us.

In addition, general public perceptions regarding the quality, safety or health risks associated with particular food products could reduce demand and prices for some of our products. To the extent that consumer preferences evolve away from products that we produce for health or other reasons, and we are unable to modify our products or to develop products that satisfy new consumer preferences, there will be a decreased demand for our products. If excess supplies do exist, this could result in reduced pricing or unusable inventory which could adversely impact our results of operations.

Climate change, or legal, regulatory, or market measures to address climate change, may negatively affect our business and operations.

There is growing concern that carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases in the atmosphere may have an adverse impact on global temperatures, weather patterns, and the frequency and severity of extreme weather and natural disasters. In the event that such climate change has a negative effect on the productivity of our citrus groves, it could have an adverse impact on our business and results of operations. The increasing concern over climate change also may result in more regional, federal, and/or global legal and regulatory requirements to reduce or mitigate the effects of greenhouse gases or climate change. In the event that such regulation is enacted, we may experience significant increases in our costs of operations, including but not limited to increased energy, environmental, and other costs and capital expenditures. In particular, increasing regulation of fuel emissions could substantially increase the distribution and supply chain costs associated with our products. As a result, climate change could negatively affect our financial condition and results of operations.

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ESG issues, including those related to climate change and sustainability, may have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows and damage our reputation.

Companies across all industries are facing increasing scrutiny relating to their ESG policies. Increased focus and activism related to ESG may hinder the Company’s access to capital, as investors may reconsider their capital investment as a result of their assessment of the Company’s ESG practices. In particular, customers, investors and other stakeholders are increasingly focusing on environmental issues, including climate change, water use, deforestation, plastic waste, and other sustainability concerns. There have also been changing consumer preferences for natural or organic products and ingredients and increased consumer concerns or perceptions (whether accurate or inaccurate) regarding the effects of substances present in certain consumer products. Responding to and complying with these preferences, concerns and demands could cause us to incur additional costs or to make changes to our operations that could negatively affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

If the Company does not adapt to or comply with new regulations or fails to meet its ESG goals or meet the evolving investor, industry or stakeholder expectations and standards, or if the Company is perceived to have not responded appropriately to the growing concern for ESG issues, fruit processors and consumers may choose to stop purchasing our products or purchase products from another company or a competitor, and the Company’s reputation, business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows may be adversely affected.

Increases in labor, personnel and benefits costs could adversely affect our operating results.

We primarily utilize labor contractors to harvest and deliver our fruit to outside packing facilities. Our employees and contractors are in demand by other agribusinesses and other industries. Shortages of labor, particularly as a result of the recent low unemployment rate in the United States and in Florida in particular, could delay our harvesting or orange processing activities or could result in increases in labor costs.

We and our labor contractors are subject to government mandated wage and benefit laws and regulations. In addition, current or future federal or state healthcare legislation and regulation, including the Affordable Care Act, may increase our medical costs or the medical costs of our labor contractors that could be passed on to us.

Increases in commodity or raw product costs, such as fuel and chemical costs, could adversely affect our operating results.

Many factors may affect the cost and supply of citrus, including external conditions, commodity market fluctuations, changes in governmental laws and regulations, tariffs, agricultural programs, severe and prolonged weather conditions and natural disasters. Increased costs for products can negatively impact our operating results and there can be no assurance that they will not adversely affect our operating results in the future.

We are subject to transportation risks.

We depend on third party providers of transportation and have no control over such third parties. An extended interruption in our ability to harvest and haul our products could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. Similarly, any extended disruption in the distribution of our products could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. While we believe we are adequately insured and would attempt to transport our products by alternative means if we were to experience an interruption due to strike, natural disasters or otherwise, we cannot be sure that we would be able to do so or be successful in doing so in a timely and cost-effective manner.

We benefit from reduced real estate taxes due to the agricultural classification of a majority of our land.  Changes in the classification or valuation methods employed by county property appraisers could cause significant changes in our real estate property tax liabilities.

For the fiscal years ended September 30, 2021, 2020 and 2019, we paid approximately $2,570,000, $2,714,000, and $2,755,000 in real estate taxes, respectively. These taxes were based upon the agricultural use (“Green Belt”) values determined by the county property appraisers in which counties we own land, of approximately $82,790,000, $87,976,000, and $91,312,000 for the fiscal years ended September 30, 2021, 2020 and 2019, respectively, which differs significantly from the fair values determined by the county property appraisers of approximately $467,948,000, $463,799,000, and $514,330,000, respectively. Changes in state law or county policy regarding the granting of agricultural classification or calculation of "Green Belt" values or average millage rates could significantly and adversely impact our results of operations, cash flows and/or financial position.

Liability for the use of fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides and other potentially hazardous substances could increase our costs.

Our agricultural business involves the use of herbicides, fertilizers and pesticides, some of which may be considered hazardous or toxic substances. We may be deemed liable and have to pay for the costs or damages associated with the improper application, accidental release or the use or misuse of such substances. Our insurance may not be adequate to cover such costs or damages, or may not continue to be available at a price or under terms that are satisfactory to us. In such cases, if we are required to pay significant costs or damages, it could materially adversely affect our business, results of operations, financial condition and cash flows.

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Compliance with applicable environmental laws may substantially increase our costs of doing business which could reduce our profits.

We are subject to various laws and regulations relating to the operation of our properties, which are administered by numerous federal, state and local governmental agencies. We face a potential for environmental liability by virtue of our ownership of real estate property. If hazardous substances (including herbicides and pesticides used by us or by any persons leasing our lands) are discovered emanating from any of our lands and the release of such substances presents a threat of harm to the public health or the environment, we may be held strictly liable for the cost of remediation of these hazardous substances. In addition, environmental laws that apply to a given site can vary greatly according to the site’s location, its present and former uses, and other factors such as the presence of wetlands or endangered species on the site. Management monitors environmental legislation and requirements and makes every effort to remain in compliance with such regulations. Furthermore, we require lessees of our properties to comply with environmental regulations as a condition of leasing. We also purchase insurance for environmental liability when it is available; however, these insurance contracts may not be adequate to cover such costs or damages or may not continue to be available at prices and terms that would be satisfactory. It is possible that in some cases the cost of compliance with these environmental laws could exceed the value of a particular tract of land, make it unsuitable for use in what would otherwise be its highest and best use, and/or be significant enough that it would materially adversely affect us.

Our business may be adversely affected if we lose key employees.

We depend to a large extent on the services of certain key management personnel. These individuals have extensive experience and expertise in the business lines and segments in which they work. The loss of any of these individuals could have a material adverse effect on our businesses. We do not maintain key-man life insurance with respect to any of our employees. Our success will be dependent on our ability to continue to attract, employ and retain skilled personnel in our business lines and segments.

If our internal controls are ineffective, our operating results could be adversely affected.

Our internal controls over financial reporting may not prevent or detect misstatements because of its inherent limitations, including the possibility of human error, the circumvention or overriding of controls or fraud. Even effective internal controls can provide only reasonable assurance with respect to the preparation and fair presentation of financial statements. If we fail to maintain the adequacy of our internal controls, including any failure to implement required new or improved controls, or if we experience difficulties in their implementation, our business and operating results could be harmed, and we could fail to meet our financial reporting obligations.

Inflation can have a significant adverse effect on our operations.

Inflation can have a major adverse impact on our citrus operations and there has been significant recent inflationary developments in the United States. It is uncertain as to whether these recent inflationary pressures will continue, will increase or will be brought under control. Our citrus operations are most affected by escalating costs and unpredictable revenues and high irrigation water costs. High fixed water costs related to our citrus lands will continue to adversely affect earnings. Prices received for many of our products are dependent upon prevailing market conditions and commodity prices. Therefore, in addition to making it difficult to accurately predict revenue, we are unable to pass on cost increases caused by general inflation, except to the extent reflected in market conditions and commodity prices. As a result, if market conditions and commodity prices do not enable us to pass along such costs increases, these recent and future inflationary pressures would likely negatively affect our results of operations, cash flows and/or financial position.

We incur increased costs as a result of being a publicly traded company.

As a company with publicly traded securities, we have incurred, and will continue to incur, significant legal, accounting and other expenses. In addition, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 and the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010, as well as rules promulgated by the SEC and Nasdaq, requires us to adopt corporate governance practices applicable to U.S. public companies. These laws, rules and regulations may increase our legal and financial compliance costs, which could adversely affect the trading price of our common stock.

System security risks, data protection breaches, cyber-attacks and systems integration issues could disrupt our internal operations or services provided to customers, and any such disruption could reduce our expected revenues, increase our expenses, damage our reputation and adversely affect our stock price.

Computer programmers and hackers may be able to penetrate our network security and misappropriate or compromise our confidential information or that of third parties, create system disruptions or cause shutdowns. Computer programmers and hackers also may be able to develop and deploy viruses, worms, and other malicious software programs that attack our systems and databases or otherwise exploit any security vulnerabilities of our systems and databases. In addition, sophisticated hardware and operating system software and applications that we develop internally or procure from third parties may contain defects in design or manufacture, including “bugs” and other problems that could unexpectedly interfere with the operation of the system. The costs to us to eliminate or alleviate cyber or other security problems, bugs, viruses, worms, malicious software programs and security vulnerabilities could be significant, and our efforts to address these problems may not be

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successful and could result in interruptions, delays, cessation of service and loss of existing or potential customers that may impede our sales, distribution or other critical functions.

Portions of our information technology infrastructure also may experience interruptions, delays or cessations of service or produce errors in connection with systems integration or migration work that takes place from time to time. We may not be successful in implementing new systems and transitioning data, which could cause business disruptions and be more expensive, time consuming, disruptive and resource-intensive. Such disruptions could adversely impact our ability to track sales and could interrupt other operational or financial processes, which in turn could adversely affect our financial results, stock price and reputation.

Risks Related to Our Indebtedness

We maintain a significant amount of indebtedness which could adversely affect our financial condition, results of operations or cash flows and may limit our operational and financing flexibility and negatively impact our business.

As of September 30, 2021, we had approximately $126,294,000 in principal amount of indebtedness outstanding under our secured credit facilities and an additional availability of approximately $94,664,000 is available under our working capital and revolving lines of credit. Our loan agreements, as well as other debt instruments we may enter into in the future, may have negative consequences to us and could limit our business because we will use a substantial portion of our cash flows from operations to pay debt service costs which will reduce the funds available to us for corporate and general expenses and it may make us more vulnerable to economic downturns and adverse developments in our business. Our loan agreements require us to comply with various restrictive covenants and some contain financial covenants that require us to comply with specified financial ratios and tests. Our failure to meet these covenants could result in default under these loan agreements and would result in a cross-default under other loan agreements. In the event of a default and our inability to obtain a waiver of the default, all amounts outstanding under loan agreements could be declared immediately due and payable. Our loan agreements also contain various covenants that limit our ability to engage in specified types of transactions. We expect that we will depend primarily upon our citrus operations to provide funds to pay our corporate and general expenses and to pay any amounts that may become due under any credit facilities and any other indebtedness we may incur. In addition, there are factors beyond our control that could negatively affect our citrus business revenue stream. Our ability to make these payments depends on our future performance, which will be affected by various financial, business, macroeconomic and other factors, many of which we cannot control.

We may be unable to generate sufficient cash flow to service our debt obligations.

To service our debt, we require a significant amount of cash. Our ability to generate cash, make scheduled payments or refinance our obligations depends on our successful financial and operating performance. Our financial and operating performance, cash flow and capital resources depend upon prevailing economic conditions and various financial, business and other factors, many of which are beyond our control. These factors include among others:

If our cash flow and capital resources are insufficient to fund our debt service obligations, we may be forced to reduce or delay capital expenditures, sell material assets or operations, obtain additional capital or restructure our debt. If we are required to take any actions referred to above, it could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. In addition, we cannot assure investors that we would be able to take any of these actions on terms acceptable to us, or at all, or that these actions would enable us to continue to satisfy our capital requirements or that these actions would be permitted under the terms of our various debt agreements.

Some of our debt is based on variable rates of interest, which could result in higher interest expenses in the event of an increase in the interest rates.

Our credit facility and certain of our term loans that we have currently bear interest at variable rates, which will generally change as interest rates change. We bear the risk that the rates we are charged by our lenders will increase faster than the earnings and cash flow of our business, which could reduce profitability, adversely affect our ability to service our debt, cause us to breach covenants contained in our credit facility and term loans, any of which could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

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Risks Related to our Common Stock

We may not be able to continue to pay or maintain our cash dividends on our common stock and the failure to do so may negatively affect our share price.

We have historically paid regular quarterly dividends to the holders of our common stock and in June 2021 announced an increase in our quarterly dividend to $0.50 per common share, from $0.18 per common share. Our ability to pay cash dividends depends on, among other things, our cash flows from operations, our cash requirements, our financial condition, the degree to which we are/or become leveraged, contractual restrictions binding on us, provisions of applicable law and other factors that our Board of Directors may deem relevant. There can be no assurance that we will generate sufficient cash from continuing operations in the future or have sufficient cash surplus or net profits to pay dividends on our common stock. Our dividend policy is based upon our directors’ current assessment of our business and the environment in which we operate, and that assessment could change based on business developments (which could, for example, increase our need for capital expenditures) or new growth opportunities. Our Board of Directors may, in its discretion, decrease the level of cash dividends or entirely discontinue the payment of cash dividends. The reduction or elimination of cash dividends may negatively affect the market price of our common stock.

There can be no assurance that we will resume the repurchase of shares of our common stock.

In March 2017, our Board of Directors authorized the repurchase of up to $5,000,000 of the Company’s common stock beginning March 9, 2017 and continued through March 9, 2019. In May 2017, our Board of Directors authorized the repurchase of up to an additional $2,000,000 of the Company’s common stock beginning May 24, 2017 and continued through May 24, 2019. There can be no assurance that we will repurchase shares in the future in any particular amounts or at all. A reduction in, or elimination of, share repurchases could have a negative effect on our share price.

If we were to conduct another tender offer or engage in an additional share repurchase program, holders of our securities would be subject to certain risks associated with a decrease in the outstanding number of shares of our common stock.

In September 2018 the Company announced the commencement of the Tender Offer. During the Tender Offer the Company repurchased an aggregate of 752,234 shares at a price of $34.00 per share aggregating $25,575,956. These shares represented approximately 9.2% of the total number of shares of the Company’s common stock issued and outstanding as of October 2, 2018. While we have no plans to conduct another tender offer at this time, we may conduct another tender offer or engage in the repurchase of our shares in the future. Stockholders could be adversely affected by a reduction in our “public float,” that is, the number of shares owned by outside stockholders and available for trading in the securities markets, if the Company makes future tender offers or private or open market repurchases of its shares. Although the Company is not currently pursuing a tender offer or repurchase program, there are no assurances that our Board of Directors will not authorize the Company to do so in the future. Engaging in a tender offer or repurchase program in the future could have a negative effect on our share price.

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Item 1B. Unresolved Staff Comments

None.

Item 2. Properties

As of September 30, 2021, Alico owned approximately 83,000 acres of land located in eight counties in Florida. Acreage in each county and the primary classification with respect to the present use of these properties is shown in the following table:

(1) Subsequent to September 30, 2021, the Company sold approximately 1,638 acres located in Hendry County (see “Recent Developments” above for further detail).

Approximately 54,614 acres of the properties listed are encumbered by credit agreements totaling approximately $216,500,000, of which there was approximately $126,294,000 outstanding at September 30, 2021. For a more detailed description of the credit agreements and collateral please see Note 6. “Long-Term Debt and Lines of Credit” to the Company’s fiscal year 2021 consolidated financial statements.

Although the Company has mineral rights on approximately 90,000 acres, the Company currently collects mining royalties on only approximately 526 acres of the land included in the table above located in Glades County, Florida and on none of the non-owned lands with respect to which it holds mineral rights. These royalties do not represent a significant portion of operating revenues or gross profits.

Item 3. Legal Proceedings

From time to time, Alico may be involved in litigation relating to claims arising out of its operations in the normal course of business. There are no current legal proceedings to which the Company is a party or of which any of its property is subject that it believes will have a material adverse effect on its financial position, results of operations or cash flows.

Item 4. Mine Safety Disclosures

Not Applicable.

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PART II

Item 5. Market for Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities

Common Stock

Our common stock is traded on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the symbol ALCO.

Holders

On December 3, 2021, our stock transfer records indicated there were 218 holders of record of our common stock. A greater number of holders of our common stock are “street name” or beneficial holders, whose shares are held by banks, brokers and other financial institutions.

Dividend Policy

The declaration and amount of any actual cash dividend are in the sole discretion of our Board of Directors and are subject to numerous factors that ordinarily affect dividend policy, including the results of our operations and financial position, as well as general economic and business conditions.

Stock Performance Graph

The graph below represents our common stock performance, comparing the value of $100 invested on September 30, 2016 in our common stock, the S&P 500 Index, the S&P Agricultural Products Index and a Company-constructed peer group, which includes Forestar Group, Inc., Limoneira Company, The St. Joe Company, Tejon Ranch Co. and Texas Pacific Land Trust.

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(Includes reinvestment of dividends)

Recent Sale of Unregistered Securities

None.

Issuer Repurchases of Equity Securities

We adopted Rule 10b5-1 share repurchase plan under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the “Plan”) in connection with share repurchase authorizations. The Plan allows us to repurchase our shares of common stock at times when it otherwise might be prevented from doing so under insider trading laws or because of self-imposed trading blackout periods. Because repurchases under the Plan are subject to certain pricing parameters, there is no guarantee as to the exact number of common shares that will be repurchased under the Plan or that there will be any repurchases pursuant to the Plan. We did not repurchase any of our common stock under our Plan during the year ended September 30, 2021.

Item 6. [Reserved]

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Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations

The following discussion and analysis should be read in conjunction with the accompanying Consolidated Financial Statements and related Notes thereto.

Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Information

We provide forward-looking information in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, particularly in this Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations, pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”). Any statements in this Annual Report on Form 10-K that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements that express our intentions, beliefs, expectations, strategies, predictions or any other statements relating to our future activities or other future events or conditions. These statements are based on our current expectations, estimates and projections about our business based, in part, on assumptions made by our management and can be identified by terms such as “plans,” “expect,” “may,” "anticipate,” “intend,” “should be,” “will be” “is likely to,” “believes,” and similar expressions referring to future periods. Alico believes the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements are reasonable but cannot guarantee future results, level of activity, performance or achievements. Actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements. Therefore, Alico cautions you against relying on any of these forward-looking statements. Factors which may cause future outcomes to differ materially from those foreseen in forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to: changes in laws, regulation and rules, including tax laws and tax rates; climate change; weather conditions that affect production, transportation, storage, demand, import and export of fresh product and their by-products; increased pressure from diseases including citrus greening and citrus canker, as well as insects and other pests; disruption of water supplies or changes in water allocations; market pricing of citrus; pricing and supply of raw materials and products; market responses to industry volume pressures; pricing and supply of energy; changes in interest rates; availability of refinancing; availability of financing for land development activities and other growth and corporate opportunities; onetime events; acquisitions and divestitures; ability to make strategic acquisitions or divestitures; ability to redeploy proceeds from divestitures; ability to consummate selected land acquisitions; ability to take advantage of tax deferral options; seasonality; labor disruptions; inability to pay debt obligations; inability to engage in certain transactions due to restrictive covenants in debt instruments; government restrictions on land use; changes in agricultural land values; impact of the COVID-19 outbreak and coronavirus pandemic on our agriculture operations, including without limitation demand for product, supply chain, health and availability of our labor force, the labor force of contractors we engage, and the labor force of our competitors; other risks related to the duration and severity of the COVID-19 outbreak and coronavirus pandemic and its impact on Alico’s business; the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak and coronavirus pandemic on the U.S. and global economies and financial markets, including without limitation related legislative and regulatory initiatives; access to governmental loans and incentives; any reduction in the public float resulting from repurchases of common stock by Alico; changes in equity awards to employees; whether the Company's dividend policy, including its recent increased dividend amounts, is continued; expressed desire of certain of our stockholders to liquidate their shareholdings by virtue of past market sales of common stock, by sales of common stock or by way of future transactions designed to consummate such expressed desire; political changes and economic crises; ability to implement ESG initiatives; competitive actions by other companies; increased competition from international companies; changes in environmental regulations and their impact on farming practices; the land ownership policies of governments; changes in government farm programs and policies and international reaction to such programs; changes in pricing calculations with our customers; fluctuations in the value of the U.S. dollar, interest rates, inflation and deflation rates; length of terms of contracts with customers; impact of concentration of sales to one customer; and changes in and effects of crop insurance programs, global trade agreements, trade restrictions and tariffs; and soil conditions, harvest yields, prices for commodities, and crop production expenses. These forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions that are difficult to predict. Therefore, actual outcomes and results may differ materially from what is expressed or forecasted in the forward-looking statements due to numerous factors, including those Risks Factors included in Part I, Item 1A and elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

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Introduction

Alico, Inc. (“Alico”), together with its subsidiaries (collectively, the “Company", "we", "us" or "our”), is a holding company with assets and related operations in agriculture, land management and natural resources. We are a Florida agribusiness and land management company with a legacy of achievement and innovation in citrus, cattle and resource conservation. We own approximately 83,000 acres of land and approximately 90,000 acres of mineral rights throughout Florida. Alico holds these mineral rights on substantially all its owned acres, with additional mineral rights on other acres. Our principal lines of business are now citrus groves and land management and other operations, which include land conservation, encompassing environmental services, land leasing and related support operations. Prior to the sale of certain ranch land to the State of Florida in September 2020, the Company’s business line also included Water Resources. Our mission is to create value for our customers and stockholders by managing existing lands to their optimal current income and total returns. Alico opportunistically acquires new agricultural assets and produces high quality agricultural products while exercising responsible environmental stewardship. Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations (“MD&A”) is intended to help provide an understanding of results of operations, financial condition and changes in financial condition for the periods presented. This MD&A is organized as follows:

Business Overview

Business Description

Alico, Inc., together with its subsidiaries (collectively, “Alico”, the “Company”, “we”, “us” or “our”) generates operating revenues primarily from the sale of its citrus products, caretaking management services, and grazing and hunting leasing. The Company operates as two business segments and all of its operating revenues are generated in the United States. For the fiscal year ended September 30, 2021, the Company generated operating revenues of approximately $108,564,000, income from operations of approximately $14,440,000, and net income attributable to common stockholders of approximately $34,859,000. Cash provided by operating activities was approximately $16,504,000 for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2021.

Fiscal Year Highlights and Other Developments

The COVID-19 Pandemic

On March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization declared the current novel coronavirus outbreak (“COVID-19”) to be a global pandemic. In response to this declaration and the rapid spread of COVID-19 within the United States, federal, state and local governments throughout the country have imposed varying degrees of restrictions on social and commercial activity to promote social distancing in an effort to slow the spread of the illness. These measures have had a significant adverse impact upon many sectors of the economy, including certain agriculture businesses.

On November 4, 2021, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“OSHA”) posted an Emergency Temporary Standard (“ETS”) on mandating that all private employers with 100 or more employees ensure their employees are COVID-19 fully vaccinated before entering the employer’s worksite or, at the employer’s option, require employees who remain unvaccinated and want to come to the worksite to wear an approved face covering and produce a negative COVID-19 test at least weekly. Pursuant to the ETS, employers must offer up to four hours of additional paid time off, including travel time, per vaccine dose to allow employees to be vaccinated and reasonable time and paid sick leave to recover from side effects experienced after each vaccine dose. Pursuant to the ETS, the ETS remains in effect for a maximum of six months. This ETS implements President Biden’s COVID-19 Action Plan, which aims to accelerate the pace of COVID-19 vaccinations in the United States.

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The ETS is effective immediately upon its publication in the Federal Register. Pursuant to the ETS, employers must comply with most requirements within 30 days of publication (December 5th) and with optional testing requirements within 60 days of publication (January 4th). Employees who have completed their vaccination by that date do not have to be tested, even if they have not yet completed the 2-week waiting period. On November 6, 2021, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals granted an emergency motion to stay enforcement of the ETS, subject to the resolution of ongoing litigation challenging the constitutionality of the ETS. The order enjoins the federal government from taking any action to enforce the ETS while it is in effect. On November 12, 2021, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals reaffirmed its suspension of the ETS and, on November 16, 2021, OSHA announced it suspended its activities related to the implementation and enforcement of the ETS pending future developments in the litigation. It is unknown how long the Fifth Circuit’s stay will remain in place. The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals was selected through the lottery system on November 16, 2021, to hear a consolidated action concerning multiple challenges to the ETS and is authorized to uphold or lift the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals order.

Also, a number of state governments have considered legislation related to employer vaccine mandates during the pandemic. OSHA maintains that its ETS preempts these laws, but states such as the State of Florida disagree. On November 17, 2021, the Florida legislature passed legislation, which was signed into law on November 18, 2021 and codified at section 381.00317, Florida Statutes, prohibiting private-sector employers from implementing a COVID-19 vaccination mandate for full-time, part-time, or contract employees without providing at least five individual exemptions, including, but not limited to, pregnancy or anticipated pregnancy; religious reasons; COVID-19 immunity; periodic testing; and the use of employer-provided personal protective equipment. If an employer fails to comply with the new law and terminates an employee based on a COVID-19 vaccination mandate, then the employer will be subject to a fine of up to $50,000 per violation.

The Company plans to monitor conflicting guidance from the State of Florida and the federal government and adjust its policies in accordance with the resolution of the ongoing litigation in the federal courts.

Since the commencement of COVID-19 in March 2020, the Company took steps to allow and encourage greater separation for our employed and contracted field workers and has worked with its harvesters, haulers and suppliers to minimize interactions. For the continued protection of our employees and in accordance with the OSHA mandate, the Company intends to comply with all requirements as outlined in the ETS that was published on November 4, 2021, to the extent consistent with applicable law.

To date, the Company has experienced no material adverse impacts from this pandemic.

Prepayment and Restructure of Fixed-Rate Term Loans

In April 2021, the Company made a prepayment of $10,312,500 on the Met Fixed-Rate Term Loans and, effective May 1, 2021, the Company modified its Met Fixed-Rate Term Loans, which in the aggregate, after the prepayment, had a balance of $70,000,000 to be interest only with a balloon payment to be paid at maturity, which is November 1, 2029. As part of this modification, the interest rate on these Met Fixed-Rate Term Loans, which were bearing interest at 4.15%, has been adjusted to 3.85% and the Company will no longer have the prepayment option previously allowed under the arrangement.

Sales and Purchase of Land

On December 3, 2021, the State of Florida purchased, under the Florida Forever program, approximately 1,638 acres of the Alico Ranch for approximately $5,675,000 pursuant to an option agreement entered into on September 21, 2021 between the State of Florida and the Company.

On June 3, 2021, the Company sold approximately 11,700 acres, which were encumbered by an easement, to a third-party for approximately $12,219,000.  In 2013, these acres were enrolled in the Wetlands Reserve Program (“WRP”), which calls for the restoration and maintenance of the property for the duration of the WRP easement.  As part of that enrollment in 2013, Alico received approximately $1,800 per acre.  

On April 15, 2021, the State of Florida purchased, under the Florida Forever program, approximately 5,734 acres of Alico Ranch for approximately $14,445,000, pursuant to an option agreement between the State of Florida and Alico dated December 15, 2020. This is the third sales transaction Alico has completed with the State of Florida within the last three years, aggregating over 22,000 acres. Alico used most of the net sales proceeds to prepay a portion of its fixed-rate term debt.

On October 30, 2020, the Company purchased approximately 3,280 gross acres located in Hendry County for a purchase price of $18,230,000. This acquisition allows the Company to add additional scale to its existing 45,000 gross acres of citrus properties. Strategically, with these acquired groves neighboring existing Alico groves, Alico believes that this acquisition will help Alico with its operation as a low-cost, high producing citrus grower.

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Federal Relief Program

The Company was eligible for Hurricane Irma federal relief programs for block grants that were being administered through the State of Florida. During the fiscal years ended September 30, 2021, 2020, and 2019, the Company received approximately $4,299,000, $4,629,000, and $15,597,000, respectively, under the Florida Citrus Recovery Block Grant (“CRBG”) program. The remaining portion of the funds that are due to Alico under the Florida CRBG program relates to certain crop insurance expenses incurred by the Company, which is estimated to be approximately $2,000,000.  In October 2021, the Company received its first portion of this crop insurance expense reimbursement in an amount equal to approximately $1,000,000 and expects to receive the remaining portion in fiscal year 2023.

Consolidated Results of Operations

The following discussion provides an analysis of Alico's results of operations and should be read in conjunction with the accompanying Consolidated Statements of Operations for the fiscal years ended September 30, 2021, 2020 and 2019:

NM - Not meaningful

The following table presents our operating revenues, by segment, as a percentage of total operating revenues for the fiscal years ended September 30, 2021, 2020 and 2019:

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The following discussion provides an analysis of the Company's operating segments:

Alico Citrus