Florida Citrus Commission (FCC) Chairman Steve Johnson recently discussed HLB and several actions and reports from the commission’s December 2024 meeting. The FCC is the governing board of the Florida Department of Citrus.
“For almost two decades, we’ve been in a season of fighting HLB, and that fight (while the war is far from over) is changing,” Johnson said. “The tools and new varieties we have available to us for managing our groves while resetting and planting new trees is forcing the fight to change hands, and if pursued head-on will lead to our advantage in this war.
“At our most recent FCC meeting on Dec. 18, we set the stage for all of us to embrace the change that’s coming. For example, the FCC unanimously approved 22 nurseries to receive funding that will expedite the propagation of the recently approved varieties (with their notable ‘good’ or ‘very good’ tolerance to HLB) as part of the 2024 Program for Expedited Propagation agreements.
“During this meeting, we also shared the appointments for the newly established Joint Subcommittee on Regulation Review to Advance Citrus Recovery. There is no better time than now to review the laws and rules governing the FCC to ensure that what’s on the books best serves the citrus industry and, by extension, the state of Florida. The members of this subcommittee’s sole mission will be to accomplish just that, and its members have been carefully vetted and appointed by the FCC and Florida Citrus Mutual (FCM) — six appointments each. This new year marks the 90th anniversary of the establishment of the Florida Citrus Commission by the state legislature, and the formation of this subcommittee further demonstrates our unwavering commitment to maintain Florida as the foremost recognized producer of the world’s finest citrus and orange juice.
“Last, but certainly not least of note, the efforts of our Global Marketing department have given us a very strong start to 2025. We closed out last year with securing almost 30% toward the goal of $25 million in orange juice sales with the e-commerce program. The department reports it is on track to reach or exceed this goal.”
Source: Florida Citrus Mutual
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