Gary Schulz
Gary Schulz, president of the Citrus Research Board in California, discusses a recent meeting of agencies that fund HLB research. Representatives of Florida’s Citrus Research and Development Foundation and the U.S. Department of Agriculture also attended the two-day session in Fort Pierce, Florida.
According to Schulz, the National Academy of Sciences within the past year recommended “that funding agencies for HLB research ought to take more of a systems approach” to funding. That recommendation led to the Florida meeting Aug. 7-8. Schulz says some of the agencies meeting could make commitments immediately but that “others need to go back and have discussions with their boards.”
“In terms of the framework of how we can work more together and collaboratively and communicate better with each other about what’s going on, I think there’s been some really good things discussed,” Schulz says. He sees potential for all of the agencies to communicate more regularly.
“The one thing I told my board before we got on the plane (to Florida) is that I guaranteed them that the one thing that we would not be doing is opening up a brand new bank account and everybody dumping their own money in there,” Schulz says. He adds that each agency will continue to maintain and fund their own regional priorities.
“We are identifying those things (like) information and coordination that we can work together (on), but it does not impact what we’re trying to do for our growers back in our home regions,” Schulz says.
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