citrus

Gov. Scott Proposes $22 Million for Florida Citrus Industry

Tacy Callies Industry News Release

Governor Rick Scott’s Securing Florida’s Future budget proposes $22 million for the Florida citrus industry. This includes $5 million supporting Florida Department of Citrus (FDOC) marketing programs aimed at educating and increasing awareness among consumers of the health benefits of Florida citrus and Florida orange juice as well as $650,000 for new variety research ensuring Americans have access to the …

budget

Florida Citrus Commission Sets Budget and Grower Assessments

Ernie Neff Florida Citrus Commission

Florida Department of Citrus (FDOC) Executive Director Shannon Shepp summarizes the Florida Citrus Commission’s actions regarding the FDOC’s 2017-18 budget and grower assessments that help fund programs. The budget is $17.83 million. “That’s about a $4.5 million reduction from last year’s budget,” Shepp says. The reduction comes primarily because of a low crop forecast of 54 million boxes of oranges, …

Citrus Expo

New Happenings at CRDF

Tacy Callies News from our Sponsor

By Harold Browning Column sponsored by the Citrus Research and Development Foundation The August board meeting of the Citrus Research and Development Foundation (CRDF) provided several updates that should be shared with the industry and other readers. The CRDF/Bayer CropScience partnership announced on August 16 at Citrus Expo moves CRDF one step closer to having strong partners to develop and …

scott

Hurricane Damage Reports Needed from Citrus Growers

Tacy Callies Citrus, Legislative, Water

Mike Sparks, executive vice president/CEO of Florida Citrus Mutual, reports that his association is working with state and federal officials on a financial assistance program to support losses to the Florida citrus crop from Hurricane Irma. “We have been in constant communication with the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS), as well as the Florida Department of Citrus …

citrus

Florida Citrus Harvest Lowest in Decades

Daniel Cooper Citrus, Crop Forecast, Industry News Release

by Jim Turner, News Service of Florida The final forecast of the 2016-2017 season for Florida’s struggling citrus industry shows the orange crop falling 16 percent from the previous season — which, itself, had been at a five-decades low. And after a season of severe drought, combined with the continued fight against a deadly citrus disease and the expansion of …

florida citrus

June Citrus Forecast: Oranges Up; Tangerines Down

Daniel Cooper Citrus, Crop Forecast

ORANGES The 2016-2017 Florida all-orange forecast released by Mark Hudson of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service is up 500,000 boxes to 68.5 million boxes. The increase is in Valencia oranges. The total includes 33 million boxes of non-Valencias (early, midseason, and Navel varieties) and 35.5 million boxes of Valencias. For the previous 10 seasons used in …

budget

Telling Millennials About Citrus

Ernie Neff Citrus, Florida Citrus Commission

Florida Department of Citrus (FDOC) Executive Director Shannon Shepp discusses the department’s mission and how it gets its message to its primary audience, millennials. Millennials are generally considered those born from 1977 to the mid-1990s. “Right now, remember, we have a declining availability of OJ (orange juice) worldwide. It’s very hard to increase sales of something you have declining supply …

citrus could recover

Growers to Pay Department of Citrus Historically Low Tax Rate

Ernie Neff Florida Citrus Commission

Citrus grower taxes supporting Florida Department of Citrus (FDOC) programs this season will be 7 cents per box for processed oranges and fresh grapefruit – the two most utilized fruits. Those historically low rates were proposed early in 2016 by 12 large Florida citrus growers and adopted by the Florida Citrus Commission (FCC) on October 26. Other per-box grower assessments …

Citrus Department Proposes Staff, Tax Cuts

Kelsey Fry Legislative

By Jim Turner THE NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA The Capital, Tallahassee – Florida citrus growers could save more than $11 million in taxes they pay on boxes of oranges and grapefruit under a proposed Florida Department of Citrus (FDOC) budget that would trim jobs to meet the demands of a troubled industry. The department, which would see its staff shrink from 39 …

bactericides survey

Update on the 2016-17 Citrus Appropriations and Legislation

Josh McGill Citrus

[nextpage title=”Update on Citrus Appropriations…”] Mike Sparks, executive vice president/CEO of Florida Citrus Mutual (FCM), distributed the following update on Florida citrus appropriations and legislation: Dear FCM Board and Members: I have some very positive news to share. The items/proposals/appropriations I’ve highlighted below have been approved by the Legislature and Governor Scott. This news came about quickly after our e-mail …

Legislative Progress for Florida Citrus Growers

Kelsey Fry Citrus

In a message below, Mike Sparks, executive vice president/CEO of Florida Citrus Mutual, reports positive news on the current status of the citrus industry’s agenda items in the legislative session. Dear FCM Board and Members: It’s been a whirlwind 2016 in Tallahassee and with a week left in the scheduled legislative session, I have some very positive news to share. …