fresh

Fresh Citrus Minimum Sizes Reduced

Ernie NeffFresh

The minimum size requirement for fresh Florida oranges and grapefruit was recently reduced. The Citrus Administrative Committee (CAC), which manages a federal marketing order for fresh Florida citrus, requested the change. The minimum orange size was reduced from 2.5 to 2.25 inches in diameter. The grapefruit reduction was from 3 and five-sixteenths inches to 3 inches. CAC Manager Duke Chadwell …

oranges

Citrus Crop Forecast: Numbers Decline for Florida in All Categories

Daniel CooperCrop Forecast

Mark Hudson of the U.S. Department of Agriculture delivered the November citrus crop forecast. For Florida, non-Valencia and Valencia oranges dropped 2 million boxes each, putting the all-orange forecast at 50 million boxes. This represents a 7 percent decline from the initial crop forecast in October. Florida all-grapefruit came in at 4.65 million boxes, down from 4.9 million boxes last …

science

See Science in Action at CREC’s 100th Anniversary Celebration

Daniel CooperCitrus, Industry News Release, Research

Oranges, grapefruit, tangerines and limes. Most people think of these as signature plants of Florida, but scientists have traced their origins back millions of years and across continental land masses, said Fred Gmitter, a University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) professor of horticultural sciences. Scientists can describe the evolutionary paths of your favorite citrus, from prehistoric …

forecast

Grower: Forecast Is Too High, but Future Optimistic

Ernie NeffCrop Forecast

Grower Kevin Shelfer of Joshua Citrus lacks confidence in the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s initial 54 million-box forecast for Florida oranges. “I feel like the (USDA) number is way higher than what I personally think it is,” he says. “I had in mind it would probably be in the mid-30s to 40 (million boxes).” He expects to see further declines …

orange

Citrus Crop Forecast: Florida All Oranges at 54 Million Boxes

Daniel CooperCitrus, Crop Forecast

The 2017-2018 Florida all-orange forecast released today by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is 54 million boxes, 21 percent less than last season’s final production. Florida Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam and Florida Citrus Mutual both issued statements indicating they are concerned that the forecast did not accurately account for the full damage inflicted by Hurricane Irma. Listen to the …

Harvesting Charges for Florida Citrus

Tacy CalliesEconomics

By Ariel Singerman, Marina Burani-Arouca, Stephen H. Futch and Robert Ranieri This article summarizes the charges for harvesting citrus in Florida during the 2016–17 season. The estimates provided are key for computing on-tree prices and to estimate economic returns to citrus growers. The estimates are based on a survey of harvesters conducted in May 2017. A total of 15 harvesters …

Fresh

Fresh Fruit: Challenges and Changes

Ernie NeffFresh

Florida’s fresh citrus industry has suffered even more from HLB than has the much larger juice industry. Duke Chadwell, manager of the Citrus Administrative Committee (CAC), discusses pending organizational changes in the fresh industry, brought on primarily by HLB. The CAC administers a federal marketing order for fresh Florida citrus that has been in place since 1939. “The Citrus Administrative …

export expectations

Moroccan Citrus: Increased Production Brings Marketing Challenges

Tacy CalliesCitrus

By Hassan Farouk Ahmed Morocco’s citrus production reached 2.3 million metric tons (MT) in 2016–17, an increase of 15 percent over the previous marketing year. Orange production increased by 4 percent, to 962,250 MT, while tangerine and mandarin production increased 24 percent to 1,325,246 MT. Much of the increase in production was due to increases in the area harvested, as …

citrus

Florida Citrus Harvest Lowest in Decades

Daniel CooperCitrus, 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 …

citrus crop forecast

Final U.S. Citrus Crop Forecast Down 17 Percent from Last Season

Daniel CooperCitrus, Crop Forecast

Candi Erick, the agricultural statistics administrator with the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services’ Florida Agricultural Statistics Service, reports the final citrus crop forecast of the 2016-17 season. The United States all-orange forecast for the 2016-2017 season is down 2 percent from last month and down 17 percent from last season’s final utilization. The 2016-2017 Florida all-orange forecast released …

planting

Planting in the Northern Citrus Belt

Ernie Neffplanting

Some long-time farmers in the Hastings area plan to develop more than 100 acres of tangerines over the next four to five years. Gary England, University of Florida/Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences regional specialized Extension agent and director of the Hastings Agricultural Extension Center, discusses their plans. He says the farmers, whom he declined to name, are “looking strictly …

Georgia Prison Gets Citrus Plot

Tacy CalliesCitrus

By Tacy Callies With the recent birth of the Georgia Citrus Association (GCA), many small commercial citrus groves are getting started in the state. Georgia’s newest citrus planting, however, is not a commercial grove. It’s a 100-tree installation that was planted this spring at the Mitchell County Correctional Institute. Dubbed MitCo Grow by a 4-H student, the project is the …

Florida orange

May Citrus Crop Forecast Has Small Changes

Daniel CooperCitrus, Crop Forecast

  Mark Hudson of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service issued the May 2017 citrus crop forecast. Florida forecast: United States forecast: Florida Oranges All Oranges The 2016-2017 Florida all-orange forecast is up 1 million boxes to 68 million boxes. The total includes 33 million boxes of the non-Valencia oranges (early, midseason, and Navel varieties) and 35 …

usda

USDA Citrus Crop Forecast

The first USDA citrus crop forecast for the 2024-25 season is scheduled to be released at 12:00 noon Eastern Time/9:00 a.m. Pacific Time on October 11, 2024. You will be able to tune in and hear the numbers as they are given by the U.S. Department of Agriculture National Agricultural Statistics Service. Click on the player below to hear the …

Specialty Citrus Production on the Rise

Daniel CooperCitrus

Consumer demand continues to drive an increase in U.S. production totals for tangerines, mandarin oranges and tangelos. Rod Bain has the details. Sponsored Content5 Facts About Fire Ants and How to Control ThemApril 30, 2024BRAZILIAN RESEARCH RESULTS IN A UNIQUE PRODUCT FOR HLB MANAGEMENTApril 1, 2024Protect Your Groves From Citrus LeafminerMay 29, 2023

HLB, Replanting

Nurseryman Discusses HLB and Replanting Choices

Ernie NeffHLB Management, Rootstocks, Scions

As a member of a grower panel at the recent Florida Citrus Show in Fort Pierce, nurseryman Nate Jameson shared his thoughts on coping with HLB, choosing trees for replanting and more. The owner of Brite Leaf Citrus Nursery summarizes his presentation, starting with questions growers have for nurserymen. “I think the number-one question that we get is, ‘What tree …

Valencias PFD

Growers Discuss Bactericides, Nutrition and More

Ernie NeffBactericides, Nutrition, PFD

A handful of citrus growers discussed January bloom and postbloom fruit drop (PFD), bactericides, nutrition and replanting strategies at a grower forum in Sebring on January 12. Laurie Hurner, Highlands County Extension director and citrus Extension agent, summarizes the discussions. “We are looking at areas where we’ve got bloom coming on. That is a little bit nerve-wracking for January,” Hurner …

florida

Small Changes in USDA Citrus Crop Forecast

Daniel CooperCitrus, Crop Forecast

Mark Hudson, of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) National Agriculture Statistics Service in Washington, D.C., delivered the latest citrus crop forecast today. Florida Valencia oranges dropped slightly from 36 million boxes in December to 35 million boxes in January. Hudson explained this was due to fruit drop. White grapefruit dropped from 2 million boxes to 1.7 million boxes. Tangerines and tangelos …

Research Update: Citrus Undercover Production Systems and Whole Tree Thermotherapy

Tacy CalliesCitrus

By Arnold Schumann, Laura Waldo and Alan Wright Research for producing huanglongbing (HLB)-free fresh Florida citrus with covered production systems began at the University of Florida/Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) Indian River Research and Education Center in 2013 and at the Citrus Research and Education Center (CREC) in 2014. These citrus undercover production systems (CUPS) evolved from the …

Ellis, Sparks, Robinson to Join Citrus Hall of Fame

Ernie NeffCitrus

Jim Ellis of Bartow, Mike Sparks of Apollo Beach and the late T. Ralph Robinson will be inducted into the Florida Citrus Hall of Fame on March 10 at Florida Southern College in Lakeland. Ellis has been a grower, packer, industry representative and historian. He currently works for the Division of Fruit and Vegetables in the Florida Department of Agriculture …