florida citrus

Governor Rick Scott Appoints Three to the Florida Citrus Commission

Daniel CooperIndustry News Release

Governor Rick Scott announced two appointments and one reappointment to the Florida Citrus Commission. Lee Bouldin, 62, of Vero Beach, is a citrus shipper at DNE World Fruit. He received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Wake Forest University. Bouldin succeeds Michael Garavaglia and is appointed for a term beginning August 9, 2017, and ending May 31, 2019. Carlos Martinez, …

Citrus Expo Opens a Week from Today!

Abbey TaylorCitrus Expo

August 9, 2017 Citrus growers, vendors and industry professionals are looking forward to gathering on Wednesday, August 16 at 8:00 a.m. at the Lee Civic Center in North Fort Myers. That’s when the doors officially open to the 2017 Citrus Expo trade show, the biggest and best annual gathering of citrus industry members in the United States. There are only …

Seniors May Reduce Dementia Risk with Citrus

Len WilcoxCalifornia Corner, Nutrition

Eat citrus to prevent dementia? A new study published in the British Journal of Nutrition suggests just that. It shows that older people who frequently eat citrus fruit were 23 percent less likely to get dementia. The study was also reported by the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) on its Brain Health and Wellness website. The study was conducted on more than …

usda

Rep. Albritton Discusses Citrus Industry Funding

Abbey TaylorLegislative

By Jaci Schreckengost Ben Albritton, Florida House Representative from District 56, says it is encouraging to see the positivity in the citrus community, especially in challenging times. Due to the rise of huanglongbing (HLB), known as citrus greening disease, Florida citrus growers are facing the challenges of reduced production and health of their crops. There have been some changes in …

Florida Citrus Hall of Fame Seeks Nominations

Tacy CalliesCitrus, Industry News Release

Nominations are now being sought for potential inductees to the Florida Citrus Hall of Fame. Induction ceremonies are scheduled to take place on Friday, March 9, 2018, at Florida Southern College in Lakeland. The luncheon is co-sponsored by Florida Citrus Mutual and the Florida Department of Citrus. Eligible nominees are those distinguished leaders who have made significant contributions to the …

Citrus Industry Participates in H-2A for Labor Needs

Abbey TaylorLabor

By Jaci Shreckengost Concern over availability of domestic employees in the United States has caused growers to change where they get their labor. Fritz Roka, associate professor of agriculture economics at the University of Florida’s Southwest Florida Research and Education Center in Immokalee, says the uncertainty surrounding the immigration policies of the current United States administration has led growers to …

citrus greening

HLB Found in California Citrus Birthplace

Abbey TaylorCalifornia Corner, Citrus Greening

A citrus tree in the city of Riverside tested positive for huanglongbing (HLB) disease. The detection is the first case of HLB found in a major citrus-producing county and the most northern in California. The California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) confirmed the detection of HLB disease in a sample taken from a grapefruit tree located in a Riverside …

Citrus Leprosis: a Continuing Threat in Florida and North America

Tacy CalliesDiseases

By Richard F. Lee The old-timers called citrus leprosis “nailhead rust.” Prevalent in Florida in the early 1900s, the disease was first called leprosis in the 1920s by H.S. Fawcett. Although the disease was widespread in Florida at one time, it mysteriously disappeared in the mid-1960s. L.C. Knorr [University of Florida/Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences Citrus Research and Education …

Hunt Brothers Fellowship Grows Future Citrus Industry Leaders

Daniel CooperCitrus, Industry News Release, Research

Even when Matt Mattia was studying tomato breeding as a master’s student at the University of Florida (UF), he was dreaming of citrus. Now a doctoral student at UF, he’s working toward achieving that dream of working in one of Florida’s most important industries. Thanks to the Hunt Brothers Fellowship, which funds graduate research in citrus, Mattia can live, work …

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 …

Sneak Peek: August 2017 Citrus Industry Magazine

Tacy CalliesSneak Peek

The August issue of Citrus Industry magazine serves as the show guide for the 2017 Citrus Expo. Now in its 26th year, Citrus Expo is the largest trade show and seminar program of its kind in the United States. The event takes place August 16–17 at the Lee Civic Center in North Fort Myers, Florida. This year, Citrus Expo is …

Citrus Chief Gets New Contract, No Raise

Daniel CooperCitrus, Industry News Release

From News Service of Florida Shannon Shepp, executive director of the Florida Department of Citrus, will not receive a raise under a new contract approved Wednesday. The Florida Citrus Commission unanimously approved the deal, which alters Shepp’s severance package. The package initially would have given her the equivalent of 20 weeks’ pay if she was let go. Instead, Shepp will …

Citrus Expo to Host U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue

Abbey TaylorCitrus Expo

Citrus Expo is proud to announce that U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue will be attending the first day of the show on Wednesday, August 16, with U.S. Representative Tom Rooney. Perdue and Rooney are looking forward to walking the tradeshow floor and viewing the top-of-the-line products and services the Citrus Expo exhibitors have to offer. While on the trade …

citrus greening

Justices Reject Challenge to Scott Citrus Veto

Daniel CooperCitrus, Citrus Greening, Industry News Release

by Jim Saunders, News Service of Florida Despite clear frustrations of some justices, the Florida Supreme Court on Thursday declined to invalidate Gov. Rick Scott’s veto of $37.4 million that lawmakers approved to compensate homeowners whose healthy citrus trees were cut down by the state more than a decade ago. The ruling pointed to circuit court cases in Broward and …

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 …

citrus greening

Citrus Diseases Discussed at Farm Bill Listening Session

Daniel CooperCitrus, Citrus Greening, Farm Bill

Various comments on many areas of agriculture were given during the first farm bill listening session hosted by the House Agriculture Committee recently in Gainesville, Florida. Among those who shared comments was John Barben, a fifth-generation citrus grower from Highlands County. He talked to committee members about citrus diseases.   Hear his comments. Sponsored Content5 Facts About Fire Ants and …

HLB

New Citrus Production Guide Coming Soon

Ernie NeffProduction

Jackie Burns, University of Florida/Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) dean for research, discusses a new Florida Citrus Production Guide that will be available to growers soon. She summarizes a presentation she made at the June Florida Citrus Mutual conference for Michael Rogers, director of the UF/IFAS Citrus Research and Education Center in Lake Alfred. “We’ve taken the Pest …

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 …