About 200 grower members and other attendees gathered in Sebring for the Highlands County Citrus Growers Association (HCCGA) annual meeting in early March. According to Ray Royce, HCCGA executive director, the event went well and is always a highlight of the year to allow growers to catch up with one another and get industry updates.
Matt Joyner, Florida Citrus Mutual executive vice president and chief executive officer, gave an update on policy matters from the state and federal level. Of particular interest among growers is the outlook for funding for the Citrus Research and Field Trial (CFAFT) Foundation. Last year, the state legislature allocated more than $100 million to CRAFT. Joyner said it was still undetermined how much the state would deliver to the program this year as the legislature hammers out the budget in Tallahassee. Mutual and other industry stakeholders have been lobbying for continued support of CRAFT.
Marcinda Kester, U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Farm Service Agency Florida executive director, gave an update on FSA programs available to growers and also touched on the recent freeze and USDA work toward relief programs. Her big take-home message was to encourage growers to go online and make sure their farm profiles and acreage reports are up to date with USDA. She said more and more programs are moving online, so making sure records are updated online is important to streamline the process when growers apply for disaster relief and/or other programs.
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