This is the fifth installment of Q&A features with Brenda Eubanks Burnette, the 2024 Citrus Achievement Award winner.
Why do you believe in the future of Florida citrus?
Burnette: I think Florida citrus growers, like most other farmers, are the most resilient, stubborn and steadfast people you’ll ever meet. We have multi-generational families who have helped shape the state of Florida, and those who are left are trying their best to figure a way forward to keep the industry alive. And some of that is starting to work. So, I think we will always have a citrus industry. It just won’t be what we’re used to, and it will take time to grow back.
The freezes of 1894–95 completely killed the Florida citrus industry at that time, with people abandoning their land and moving back north. But some growers continued and replanted, which formed the foundation of today’s industry. Farming is in a constant state of flux. If it’s not the weather or pests, it’s supply and demand. Florida citrus is a product that is wholesome and in demand, so I believe we will find our way forward again like the early pioneers did, and the industry will be rebuilt.
Any final thoughts you’d like to add?
Burnette: It’s important that our citrus families continue to tell their stories so future generations will learn about our citrus heritage. Citrus has truly helped shape our state, but we’re losing so much of our heritage because it’s getting thrown out. When someone passes away without having a plan for all of the company papers and artifacts, it gets tossed unless someone is interested in preserving it.
I implore anyone who is reading this to either leave those documents to your local historical society or to the Florida Citrus Hall of Fame so that it can be determined what is valuable and what can be discarded. Old letters, bills of lading, advertisements, etc. all help tell a story of what the market may have been like at a given point in time.
A prime example are the citrus crate labels. They were burned by many packinghouses in order to make room for the cardboard boxes the industry started using. There are many families who don’t even have a copy of their own label because of this practice.
So, please, if you’re closing down a company or even moving locations and don’t have the room, box up what you don’t want and call me. I’ll come pick it up and take it to Florida Southern College so the citrus archivist can determine if it’s worth preserving.
Florida Citrus Mutual called when it moved, and we now have archives of the association’s meeting minutes from 1948 on. Gulf Citrus Growers Association and Peace River Valley Citrus Growers Association will be transferring their materials to us so we can catalog, digitize and make it usable for future research purposes. Please preserve your postcards, photos, artifacts, company minutes, invoices, advertisements, correspondence, etc. for future generations. That’s my soapbox, or maybe I should say “citrus crate box!”
Special thanks to TJ BioTech for sponsoring the Citrus Achievement Award program.
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