water-shortage

Water-Shortage Orders Issued in Florida

Daniel CooperRegulation, Water

As the drought deepens across Florida, water management districts are issuing tighter watering rules. Water-shortage orders may be issued when temporary reductions in surface and ground water uses are necessary to protect water resources from serious harm. As of May 15, the state’s water management districts were operating under the following conditions: A May 14 U.S. Drought Monitor map of …

heat

Weed Management Still Mandatory When the Heat Is On

Daniel CooperTip of the Week, weeds

By Ramdas Kanissery When the summer heat rolls in and the rain gets spotty, growers tend to shift their focus to irrigation, nutrition and HLB management. Weed control often gets pushed to the back burner. But here’s the thing: Heat and dry spells do not stop weeds. They change them, and those changes can make your weed management program a …

PULAs

PULAs Are Upon Us

Daniel CooperEvents, Pesticides, Regulation

Have you heard of the term PULA yet? If not and you apply pesticides on your farm, now is the time to get up to speed on pesticide use limitation areas (PULAs). This topic was covered during the Florida Citrus Growers’ Institute, held at South Florida College in Avon Park in April. Matt Smith, University of Florida Institute of Food …

honor

Frank Hunt Honored for Service to NVDMC

Daniel CooperAwards

The New Varieties Development & Management Corp. (NVDMC) supports new variety development research to provide Florida citrus growers with unique, high-value varieties for the fresh and processed markets. The organization was established in 2005 just as HLB was confirmed in the state, making its mission even more important. A name that has been synonymous with NVDMC is Frank Hunt of …

scale

California Red Scale Advisory Issued

Daniel CooperCalifornia Corner, Pests

Sandipa Gautam, University of California area citrus integrated pest management (IPM) advisor, issued an Extension advisory for California red scale (CRS). The scale is a key pest of citrus in the San Joaquin Valley. Key points of the advisory are as follows: CRAWLERS ARE ACTIVE The CRS life cycle starts as crawlers produced by overwintering females from the past season. …

Agricultural-Environmental

Agricultural-Environmental Leadership Award Recipient Named

Daniel CooperAwards

Ernie Barnett, executive director of the Florida Land Council, has been named the 2026 recipient of the Agricultural-Environmental Leadership Award. The award has been presented annually since 1994 to environmentally innovative growers, ranchers and others committed to protecting and preserving Florida’s resources. “Ernie Barnett has spent more than 35 years in the trenches working on Florida’s toughest land and water issues,” …

month

It’s Orange Juice Month in Highlands County

Daniel CooperFlorida, Orange Juice

The Highlands County Board of County Commissioners has proclaimed the month of May to be Florida Orange Juice Month in Highlands County, Florida. The proclamation declared that: The proclamation encouraged all Highlands County residents and Floridians to take a Florida orange juice break and reflect on the wide range of positive impacts that this long-standing industry has had on the …

director

Texas A&M Research Center Director Named

Daniel CooperEducation, Research, Texas

Kranthi Mandadi will become director of the Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Extension Center at Weslaco on June 1. Mandadi is a Texas A&M AgriLife Research plant pathologist and professor in the Texas A&M Department of Plant Pathology and Microbiology. He has served at the center for more than a decade. Mandadi will oversee the administration of the center and …

fungicide

EPA Seeks Comments on Fungicide Strategy

Daniel CooperDiseases, Regulation

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released its draft Fungicide Strategy and is inviting the public to weigh in. The draft strategy identifies practical, science-based protections that fungicide users can adopt to safeguard more than 1,000 federally endangered and threatened species. The strategy also aims to preserve the flexibility that states, growers and applicators need. EPA is opening this draft …

Brazil’s

Brazil’s 2026–27 Orange Forecast Issued

Daniel CooperBrazil, Crop Forecast

Brazil’s Fundecitrus on May 8 forecast 2026–27 orange crop production for the Citrus Belt of São Paulo and the Triângulo/Southwest Minas Gerais region at 255.2 million 40.8-kilogram boxes. That’s a 12.9% reduction from the previous crop of 292.94 million boxes and a 14.7% decline relative to the average of the last decade. REASONS FOR LESS ORANGES The projection for lower …

block grant

Florida Block Grant Disaster Relief Questions Answered

Daniel Cooperfinancial, Florida Citrus Mutual, hurricane

Florida Citrus Mutual (FCM) recently compiled a question-and-answer (Q&A) document about the 2026 Florida Block Grant Disaster Relief program. The document has answers from grant administrators to citrus grower questions. It covers eligibility, production loss thresholds, base-year considerations and more. Some key points from the document include: See the full Q&A document here. Source: FCM Sponsored ContentReMedium TI® Demonstrates Proven …

Scab

California Sweet Orange Scab Quarantine Expanded

Daniel CooperCalifornia Corner, Diseases, Regulation

The U.S. Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) in cooperation with the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) have expanded the area quarantined for sweet orange scab (SOS). The expansion is in the Irvine area of Orange County and in the La Puente area of Los Angeles County in California. QUARANTINE ACTIONS APHIS is expanding …

CRAFT

Updates and Reminders for CRAFT Participants

Daniel CooperCRAFT

Steven Hall, executive director of the Citrus Research and Field Trial (CRAFT) Foundation, recently shared important information on the Emerging Varieties Program, freeze-damaged projects and annual audits. EMERGING VARIETIES PROGRAM Following the recent Environmental Protection Agency approval of the CarriCea T1 rootstock, CRAFT has established May 15 as the new deadline for the submission of proof of payment of royalties …

algal spot

When To Take Algal Spot Action

Daniel CooperDiseases, Tip of the Week

By Megan Dewdney Algal spot is rarely a top concern for growers until it seems to be suddenly everywhere. Is the disease a major concern or a nuisance? It depends. If the disease is only in a few locations, then the management goal is making sure that the disease is not spreading too widely. If many trees are affected, the …

pulp

Orange Pulp Gains Status as Valuable Raw Material

Daniel CooperBrazil

Orange pulp — long treated as a waste product of the citrus industry — has been gaining new status as a valuable raw material. Composed of peels, seeds and fibers, this material — previously destined primarily for animal feed — is also known as citrus bagasse. Brazilian citrus association Fundecitrus reports that companies in the citrus industry have been investing …

disaster

Supplemental Disaster Relief Program Extends Deadline and Increases Payments

Daniel Cooperfinancial, hurricane

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is issuing a second Supplemental Disaster Relief Program (SDRP) payment to producers for losses due to natural disasters in calendar years 2023 and 2024. USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) has already provided $6.7 billion in SDRP payments to eligible producers. USDA is extending the program deadline to give producers and FSA more time to …

farm bill

U.S. House of Representatives Passes Its Version of the Farm Bill

Daniel CooperCitrus, Farm Bill, Florida Citrus Mutual

After multiple extensions of the 2018 farm bill, significant movement on a new legislative package was achieved on April 30, when the U.S. House of Representatives approved H.R. 7567, the Farm, Food, and National Security Act of 2026. The legislation has been viewed positively by fruit and vegetable grower interests. Matt Joyner, executive vice president and chief executive officer of …

female farmer

Nominate an Outstanding Female Farmer

Daniel CooperAwards

Women in Agribusiness, in partnership with the American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF), is expanding its annual Demeter Award to include a female farmer category. The Demeter Award is being expanded in honor of the International Year of the Woman Farmer. The new female farmer category joins the three awards Women in Agribusiness has bestowed upon exceptional women in agribusiness each …

Mexfly quarantine

California Mexfly Quarantine Expanded

Daniel CooperCalifornia Corner, Pests, Regulation

The U.S. Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) and the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) recently expanded the La Mesa Mexican fruit fly (Mexfly) quarantine twice in San Diego County, California. On March 17, APHIS and CDFA expanded the quarantine following the confirmed detections on March 11 of one wild mated female Mexfly and …

Make a Plan to Eradicate Fire Ants This Year

Morgan ColeCitrus, Sponsored Content

How To Eradicate Fire Ants by Rodney Morrow Have you ever heard the phrase “shoot for the moon and you’ll land among the stars”? Our team recommends taking that inspirational adage to heart as you build your 2026 fire ant control plan. There’s one thing I always say to customers building a fire ant program for the first time: “The …