Farm Bill

Florida Ag Eligible for Loans After Hurricane Helene

Daniel Cooperfinancial, hurricane

Florida farmers, ranchers and growers impacted by Hurricane Helene can apply for interest-free loans through the Agriculture and Aquaculture Producers Natural Disaster Recovery Loan Program. Eligible agriculture and aquaculture producers can use loans to restore, repair or replace essential physical property — including fences, equipment, greenhouses and other buildings — or to remove vegetative debris. The loan availability was announced …

labor

Farmworker Protection Rule Challenged

Daniel CooperLabor, Legal

The National Council of Agricultural Employers (NCAE) has joined several agricultural associations and individual farmers in a lawsuit challenging a federal farmworker protection rule. The Department of Labor (DOL) rule is titled Improving Protections for Workers in Temporary Agricultural Employment in the United States. NCAE stated that the rule unlawfully violates the rights of America’s farm and ranch families. It …

protect

Protect Against Potential Fungus Post-Hurricane

Daniel CooperDiseases, hurricane

Citrus growers impacted by Hurricane Helene now must decide the best management strategy to protect trees from potential disease issues prior to harvest. Kim Jones, a citrus grower and packer with operations in Monticello, Florida, and Tifton, Georgia, weighed in on what to consider to protect trees. “Fungus is the biggest risk at this point,” said Jones. “The sunshine is …

changes

Texas Mexfly Quarantine Actions

Daniel CooperPests, Regulation, Texas

The U.S. Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (USDA/APHIS) and the Texas Department of Agriculture have taken several Mexican fruit fly (Mexfly) quarantine actions in Texas since mid-August. DONNA On Aug. 15, the agencies established a Mexfly quarantine in Donna, Hidalgo County. This is in response to the confirmed detection on Aug. 10 of Mexfly larvae in …

fdoc

Update on Efforts to Lower Required OJ Brix Level

Daniel CooperLegislative, Orange Juice

Florida Citrus Mutual (FCM) and federal lawmakers from Florida are pushing legislation that would direct the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to lower the required Brix level of not-from-concentrate pasteurized orange juice (OJ) from 10.5% to 10%. The change has been requested because many Florida oranges no longer produce juice that meets the 10.5% Brix requirement.     FCM Chief …

survey

Survey to Determine Hurricane Helene Ag Impacts

Daniel Cooperhurricane, Survey

The University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) has started a study to estimate the agricultural impacts resulting from Hurricane Helene in the state of Florida. Results of a survey, which can be accessed here, will be combined with a detailed baseline database on agricultural assets in Florida to estimate and communicate production losses. The information UF/IFAS …

winds

How to Help Trees Recover From High Winds

Daniel Cooperhurricane, Irrigation, Tip of the Week

By Christopher Vincent Hurricane Helene’s path spared most of the citrus industry the kind of trouble that Hurricane Ian brought back in 2022, but Ian taught us some important lessons you can use if your trees were hit by high winds. WIND SPEED MATTERS Trees impacted by Category 3 winds were mostly defoliated, with major limbs broken and near 100% …

citric acid

Growers Cautioned To Be Wary of Fruit Quality Following Helene

Daniel CooperFresh, hurricane

Georgia’s citrus growers may have dodged catastrophic results from Hurricane Helene, but they might not know the full impact of the storm for at least a couple of more weeks. Lindy Savelle, executive director of the Georgia Citrus Association, warned that though fruit may still be in the trees, it may have suffered irreparable damage from high winds when the …

CRDF

CRDF Funds OTC and Other Research Projects

Daniel CooperCRDF, Diseases, Research

The Citrus Research and Development Foundation (CRDF) board of directors had a busy meeting in September. The board approved several research proposals for funding. And one researcher was asked to revise and resubmit a proposal. “A complicating factor was several of the proposals were put together before the ‘off-year’ of oxytetracycline (OTC) usage was repealed, but we concluded that it …

medfly

California Medfly Quarantine Expanded

Daniel CooperCalifornia Corner, Pests, Regulation

Federal and state agriculture officials on Sept. 6 established a Mediterranean fruit fly (Ceratitis capitata; Medfly) quarantine in Alameda County, California. On Sept. 11, this quarantine was expanded to include a small portion of Santa Clara County. The actions were taken by the U.S. Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (USDA APHIS) and the California Department of …

Danyluk

Association Names Danyluk Researcher of the Year

Daniel CooperAwards

The Florida Fruit & Vegetable Association (FFVA) has presented University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences Professor Michelle Danyluk its 2024 Researcher of the Year Award. The award was presented at FFVA’s recent annual convention in Marco Island. The honor is given to individuals who have dedicated themselves and their work to improving Florida agriculture. Danyluk works in …

brown rot

What To Do if Brown Rot Surprises You

Daniel CooperDiseases, Tip of the Week

By Megan Dewdney It is late summer or early fall, and the usual time to consider brown rot treatment options has passed. However, you smell a sharp fermented fruit odor. When you look closer, fruit have the telltale soft brown lesions of brown rot. What options exist to minimize losses now? It is too late for the traditional control options …

irrigation

Florida Water Supply Shortage by 2025?

Daniel CooperWater

Florida TaxWatch recently released commentary titled, Could Florida Experience a Significant Water Supply Shortage by 2025? Excerpts follow: In June, the Florida Office of Economic and Demographic Research (EDR) released an updated report detailing Florida’s water supply. According to the report, Florida could experience a water supply shortage as early as next year (2025), and it is expected to increase …

tour

Initial 2024–25 Forecasts for California Navels and Mandarins

Daniel CooperCalifornia Corner, Crop Forecast

The California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA), cooperating with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service, has issued initial 2024–25 forecasts for California’s navel orange crop and for part of the mandarin crop. NAVEL ORANGES The initial 2024-25 California navel orange forecast is 78 million cartons, up 2% from the previous year. The forecast is based on …

Farm Safety and Health Week

President Declares Farm Safety and Health Week

Daniel CooperLabor, Safety

President Joe Biden declared Sept. 15 to Sept. 21 as National Farm Safety and Health Week.  “I call upon the people of the United States — including America’s farmers, ranchers and agriculture-related institutions, organizations and businesses — to reaffirm a dedication to farm safety and health,” the President stated. “I also urge all Americans to express appreciation and gratitude to our farmers, farmworkers …

root recovery

Tree Age and Trunk-Injection Effectiveness

Daniel CooperHLB Management, OTC Expert

Sponsored Content In this special series, Tom Johnson, owner of TJ BioTech, tackles questions about optimizing trunk-injection applications to treat HLB. Question: It is known that ReMedium TI® is working to fight HLB in young trees. Are ReMedium TI® injections proving to be effective in older citrus trees? Answer: ReMedium TI® is indeed effective in older citrus trees. The caution …

quality

Nutrients for Improving Fruit Growth and Quality

Daniel CooperNutrition, Tip of the Week

By Tripti Vashisth, Jeff Brecht, Yu Wang and Faisal Shahzad In the last decade, fruit quality and size has become a major issue. Moreover, fruit peel color is another challenge to overcome for citrus growers who intend to sell for fresh fruit consumption. Many nutrients are known to improve fruit growth and quality in citrus trees. For example, potassium increases …

medfly

Medfly Quarantine Issued in California

Daniel CooperCalifornia Corner, Pests, Regulation

A portion of Alameda County in California has been placed under quarantine for the Mediterranean fruit fly (Medfly) following the detection of one wild mated female in Fremont. The U.S. Department of Agriculture, the Alameda County agricultural commissioner and California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) are working collaboratively on the project. The quarantine area in Alameda County measures approximately …

frequent irrigation

Frequent Irrigation Benefits HLB-Infected Sweet Orange Trees

Daniel CooperHLB Management, Irrigation, Research

By Tripti Vashisth and Mary Sutton Citrus trees affected by huanglongbing (HLB) show significant root dieback. This dieback results in smaller root systems than would be seen in healthy citrus trees. These small root systems are limited in their uptake capacity. In other words, if an HLB-affected tree is given the same amount of water as a healthy tree, the …

centennial growers

Seeking Centennial Growers and Production Costs

Daniel CooperFlorida, Production

Florida Citrus Mutual (FCM) is seeking information about centennial growers — families that have been in the citrus business 100 years or more — so it can honor them. The statewide grower organization is also asking growers to participate in surveys that will determine the cost of production of Florida fresh grapefruit and processed oranges. CENTENNIAL GROWERS FCM wants to …