Business leaders of the global citrus industry will gather in Daytona Beach, Florida, on March 27 and 28 at the International Citrus Business Conference to develop solutions and strategic plans to ensure the survival of the world’s citrus industry. Citrus greening and declining OJ demand are threatening the survival of the citrus industry. Now more than ever, the leaders of …
A Dialog-Based Example of a Different Type of Grower Meeting
By Bill Castle True dialog is the art of thinking together.* It requires the suspension of certainty, acute listening, open sharing and willingness to participate. These principles of dialog are probably unfamiliar to most of us and are challenging to practice. However, the outcomes of dialog exceed the effort. Therefore, using these principles of dialog as the foundation, an interactive …
Robots May Soon Detect Grove Pests and Diseases
It may not be long before a grower sips coffee and works on the computer while a robot roams the grove checking for HLB-spreading psyllids and other pests and diseases. That’s thanks to machine vision software. University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences scientist Arnold Schumann tells about research he has been conducting. Schumann says researchers have developed …
UF/IFAS Researchers Awarded $10.5M to Work on HLB Resistance/Tolerance
With citrus greening devastating Florida’s $8.6 billion-a-year citrus industry, three University of Florida scientists will use $10.52 million in federal grants to study ways to help growers cope with the disease, including research on genetic editing that may produce potentially resistant fruit and trees. Since greening — or huanglongbing (HLB) — was first reported in Florida in 2005, Florida’s citrus …
Freeze Summary for Florida and Georgia Citrus
Temperatures dipped into the 20s in much of the Florida Citrus Belt on the morning of Jan. 18, but the state’s largest citrus growers association expected little, if any, freeze damage. Florida Citrus Mutual spokesman Andrew Meadows said there could be minor or moderate fruit loss in some low-lying pockets, “but absolutely no tree damage.” The coldest Florida citrus region …
Candi Erick Says Farewell
As the agricultural statistics administrator with the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services’ Florida Agricultural Statistics Service, Candi Erick has been a key leader in the Florida citrus industry. You might recognize her as the “crop forecast lady.” Read a past Citrus Industry magazine feature about her here. Erick recently retired after a long, fulfilling career of working …
Citrus Agency Shifts Money as Industry Seeks Aid
The Florida Department of Citrus adjusted its budget Wednesday for the second time this growing season, as leaders of the storm-battered industry hold out hope the U.S. Senate will approve a disaster-relief package. The Florida Citrus Commission, which oversees the department, agreed to shift more than $70,000 out of administration, scientific-research and global-marketing budgets to cover an anticipated drop in …
Dialoging to Climb Out from the HLB Hole
By Bill Castle and Pete Spyke There’s an old story that goes something like this: A farmer was out walking one evening and fell into a hole deep enough to require help to get out. Later, another farmer was walking by and jumped into the hole. The farmer in the hole was astounded and asked, “Why did you do that?” …
HLB Resistance Update
Updates on the search for trees that are resistant to HLB drew more than 40 growers and others to an OJ Break in Bartow on Jan. 9. Leadoff speaker Fred Gmitter, a plant breeder with the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, discussed an effort to see if so-called “survivor” trees might offer a solution. Survivors are …
Putnam on Citrus Forecast and Need for Federal Assistance
Florida Commissioner of Agriculture Adam H. Putnam released the following statement after the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) released its Jan. 12 citrus crop forecast for the 2017-2018 season: “Florida’s iconic citrus industry and its growers continue to struggle with the unprecedented damage caused by Hurricane Irma. This damage, combined with the cumulative impacts of citrus greening, leaves Florida’s growers …
January Citrus Crop Forecast Is Stable
According to Mark Hudson of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the January 2018 Florida all-orange forecast is 46 million boxes, unchanged from the December forecast. If realized, this will be 33 percent less than last season’s production. The forecast consists of 19 million boxes of non-Valencia oranges (early, midseason and Navel varieties) and 27 million boxes of Valencia oranges. For …
California Amends HLB Quarantine Zones
On Jan. 1, 2018, the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) implemented an emergency regional quarantine to more effectively protect California citrus from huanglongbing (HLB) disease. The quarantine created seven zones: 1) counties where HLB has not been detected and are not next to citrus-producing counties or the Mexican border; 2, 3 and 4) counties widely infested with ACP …
Cold-Tolerant Citrus Industry Update
Two University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) professionals spoke at the recent Cold-Tolerant Citrus Production for the Southeastern Coastal Plain event about the current state of the industry. UF/IFAS entomologist Xavier Martini said he has seen growth in interest for cold-tolerant citrus between 2016 and 2017. He also said he has seen an increase in the …
Florida Citrus Mutual Sets Goals for 2018 Legislative Session
The Florida legislative session began Jan. 9 in Tallahassee. Florida Citrus Mutual (FCM) has several goals for the 2018 session to aid an industry already dealing with devastating challenges. Andrew Meadows, FCM’s director of communications, says a big item on FCM’s radar is Hurricane Irma. The industry is continuing to suffer from the storm that occurred in September 2017. So, …
Diversification Possibilities for Cold-Tolerant Citrus
North Florida and south Georgia citrus growers now have opportunities to diversify their crops and expand their season with cold-tolerant citrus varieties. Peter Andersen, a professor of horticulture at the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences North Florida Research and Education Center in Quincy, said satsumas make up a majority of the citrus industry in the area. …
Irrigation Expected to Save Georgia Trees from Freeze
Most Georgia citrus growers believe microsprinkler irrigation will save their trees from a multi-day freeze that saw temperatures dip into the low 20s Friday morning, said Georgia Citrus Association President Lindy Savelle. “I think we’re going to do fine,” said Savelle, who ran microsprinklers virtually round-the-clock in her south Georgia grove because temperatures never got above 40 for five days …
International Citrus Business Conference Takes Strategic View
Allen Morris has been directly involved with the citrus industry since 1984. He has seen many ups and downs in the industry during this time. Now, he is ready to face the current citrus challenges head on. Morris is the owner and operator of Morris Agribusiness Services. In the past, he held events called the International Citrus Economics Conference. Along …
California Citrus Mutual Opposes Water Board Proposal
California Citrus Mutual (CCM) joined with several other associations to oppose major changes proposed by the State Water Resources Control Board set to be adopted for the East San Joaquin Water Quality Coalition. The affected agricultural community and water quality coalitions expect the board to adopt the proposed revisions without substantial modifications at its Jan. 23 meeting. CCM and other …
Powerful Citrus Tax Incentive Now Law
By Mike Sparks Executive Vice President/CEO, Florida Citrus Mutual I want to make sure this great news did not get lost in the holiday season. The tax bill recently signed into law by President Trump contains our citrus tax expensing provision that we have been working hard on for more than three years! The new law took effect on December …
Using Kaolin Against HLB-Spreading Psyllids
Researchers are trying to use all available tools to control HLB-spreading psyllids, says entomologist Michael Rogers with the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences. Rogers, director of the Citrus Research and Education Center in Lake Alfred, says scientists want “to show that we can actually grow citrus in the age of HLB and still be profitable.” “The …