Results of a recent referendum among fresh Florida citrus growers have been published by USDA. According to the results, ‘fresh’ growers voted to give the Citrus Administrative Committee authority to establish federal research and/or promotion programs for ‘fresh’ Florida citrus. Learn more about it and find out how this may impact Department of Citrus programs for fresh citrus, in these two reports.
When Citrus Commissioners decided this month to pursue ONLY research in a Federal Order and not include marketing funding as part of the effort, it left some asking ‘Why not marketing too?” Answering that question in this report is Citrus Commissioner Bob Behr. He is with Florida’s Natural Growers and he heads up the committee of the Commission that spent lots of time studying this issue leading up to the Commission’s vote on the matter.
To date, Citrus Department advertising, marketing and research investments have been funded by Florida growers. Citrus Commissioner Bob Behr of Florida’s Natural Growers heads up the committee of the Commission that’s been dealing with the debate about how to get other citrus producing states and nations involved in funding for citrus marketing and/or research. Since the Commission voted this week to move forward with an effort toward a federal “research” order only, we asked Behr to comment on some of the dynamics involved in this somewhat controversial industry issue. Hear his comments in this report.
Meeting during the Florida Citrus Mutual conference in Bonita Springs mid-week, Florida Citrus Commissioners addressed a number of timely topics. Among the actions, a vote to move forward on a federal research order that may eventually lead to other citrus producing states and importers paying into the industry’s citrus disease research efforts. Hear more in these reports.
The recently released book “Squeezed…” is making the rounds and ruffling a few feathers in the process. It appears some claims made by the book’s author, while not necessarily inaccurate, may be confusing people because of a negative tone of the claims being made. After seeing some of the hype about the book and related articles appearing about it recently in some newspapers and other media around the country, we decided to seek out the other side of the orange juice industry story, Read the rest of this entry »
Confusion abounds among Florida citrus growers about a Federal Marketing Order being discussed that might bring in new funds for citrus research and maybe promotion too, depending on how the Order is structured. Some growers worry about losing control over citrus marketing efforts or research direction. Florida Citrus Mutual and others urged Citrus Commissioners Wednesday to pass a motion to pursue only research in an Order, but other grower groups, like the Indian River Citrus League, have not discussed it in detail yet. But in these two reports the League’s Doug Bournique says a standing room only grower crowd is expected this week on Thursday in Vero Beach to do just that.
Several issues are up for discussion at this week’s Florida Citrus Commission meeting in Lakeland. Commissioners are wrestling with industry structure issues, research funding, marketing emphasis and a fix to the so-called “free-rider” issue, all in play at the same point in time. These two reports have comments from Chairman Ben Albritton Jr, speaking to us after his visit with Peace River Valley grower leaders on Tuesday in Wauchula.
In this report, Ernie Neff has details on talks going on that could result in the Florida Department of Citrus moving to Lakeland. This is a developing news story, hear what we know so far in this report, and stay tuned to this website for more details. We expect to be talking to FDOC officials on the record very soon. .
FLORIDA CITRUS COMMISSION APPOINTS DIRECTORS TO CITRUS RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT FOUNDATION
Lakeland, Fla. — The Florida Citrus Commission (FCC) appointed five industry leaders to serve on the board of directors for the newly formed Citrus Research and Development Foundation, Inc. (CRDF) The foundation is a not-for-profit arm of the University of Florida, called a university direct-support organization, established to manage research projects to yield solutions to greening and other diseases that threaten the future of the citrus industry. Read the rest of this entry »
The article posted at the Lakeland Ledger late Tuesday night featuring comments from Florida Senator J D Alexander has some wondering if there is any way now to get the ‘free rider’ fix effort back on track in the current Legislative Session. The Florida Citrus Commission/Department of Citrus and Florida Citrus Mutual have been working this issue in industry circles for months and months. In a communique to AgNet late today from the office of Florida Citrus Mutual CEO Mike Sparks, Sparks is quoted saying “We are still optimistic the proposal will move forward this session” adding that the bill’s language is still being developed by Senate staff but there has been no final draft put forth. Stay Tuned.
IFAS SPONSORED TOUR OF THE CITRUS INDUSTRY OF BRAZIL:
We look forward to some of our radio listeners, website visitors and Citrus Industry Magazine readers joining us on this upcoming citrus study trip to Brazil. It’s another excellent opportunity for meaningful visits and study as the Florida Extension Service will be conducting a tour to visit the citrus industry in the states of Sao Paulo and Parana, Brazil. The tour will depart from Miami on May 23 and return on May 31, 2009. The citrus tour will visit groves in the Araraquara and Limeria area for three days. This part of the tour will focus mainly on citrus disease management with a special attention on citrus greening, CVC and other citrus pests. The three days spent in the state of Parana will focus mainly on citrus canker control strategies. In addition to the week-long citrus tour, participants can elect to visit the Citrus Week activities at the Sylvio Moreira Citrus Center in Cordeiropolis (May 30-June 2). The Citrus Week activities are very similar to the Citrus Expo with presentations and a large equipment show. The cost of the tour is $3,000 which includes airfare, hotel, ground transportation and limited meals. The optional days to attend the Citrus Week activities are an additional $550.
For more information on the tour or a complete itinerary, please contact Steve Futch at the Citrus Research & Education Center in Lake Alfred at 863-956-1151 or E-mail us at shf@crec.ifas.ufl.edu.
Listen to these three reports to catch up on the latest re-appointments of Florida Citrus Commissioners, and to hear some pointed comments from Congressman Adam Putnam, including some reminders for non-farm folks in light of the recent freeze, agriculture, and how both relate to the economy.
In the midst of all the freeze news and coverage, this brief release from Florida Governor Charlie Crist almost slipped by. Here it is for the record, and for these website news archives:
TALLAHASSEE - Governor Charlie Crist announces the following reappointments to the Florida Citrus Commission (Senate Confirmation Required): Benny W. Albritton Jr., 40, of Wauchula, co-owner of Hardee Citrus Management, reappointed for a term beginning January 22, 2009, and ending May 31, 2011. He will represent district two as a grower member. Virginia S. Pena, 46, of Clewiston, controller with Southern Gardens Citrus Processing, reappointed for a term beginning January 22, 2009, and ending May 31, 2011. She will represent district four as a processor member. Steven M. Smith, 47, of LaBelle, senior vice president of Alico Inc., reappointed for a term beginning January 22, 2009, and ending May 31, 2011. He will represent district four as a grower member. George H. Streetman, 62, of Vero Beach, president of Hogan and Sons Inc., reappointed for a term beginning January 22, 2009, and ending May 31, 2011. He will represent district three as a shipper member.
The Florida Department of Citrus unveiled their own version of a stimulus plan during their January meeting. Southeast AgNet’s Ernie Neff was there and gives us this report.
HLB Conference Coverage Sponsored by: While many in the citrus industry are elated that so much money has been made available by the Florida Department of Citrus (FDOC) and other sources to support HLB, or “citrus greening” research, many also remain concerned about the market overburdened with juice in the pipeline and cash prices to growers depressed as a result. Hear University of Florida economist Alan Morris’ comments in this report.
Citrus growers everywhere seem to be clamoring for some research answers to the growing problem of HLB, or “citrus greening disease”. But they are reminded it takes time for research to produce results and therefore patience and good planning is critical throughout the process. In these two reports, some important insight and information provided by citrus grower Peter McClure who also chairs the Florida Citrus Production Research Advisory Council, known to many growers simply as the “box tax council”. For one thing, McClure explains how a new group called ACT will fit into the process.
In this report, AgNet’s Ernie Neff (photo right) catches up with the Chairman of the Dept of Citrus’ Long Range Planning Committee, David Wheeler (photo left) for some comments about the progress of what appears to be a laborious and deep discussion process.
In this report, AgNet’s Ernie Neff (photo left) catches up with Florida Citrus Commission Chairman Ben Albritton Jr (photo right) to discuss the progress of the Long Range Planning Committee that has been appointed to help strategize for the future of the Citrus Department and the Florida Citrus Industry. Apparently from the comments, the facilitator for these meetings is really putting committee members through some thinking exercises. Click on this play icon to hear more.
In this report, comments from Florida Department of Citrus Executive Director Ken Keck about recent actions by the Citrus Commission to move the ball forward in terms of dealing with the so-called “free rider” issue where growers of citrus in other states and countries do not participate in funding of research and marketing programs like Florida growers do. Some recent commission efforts focus on getting processors more involved in the conversation directly.
In this report, AgNet’s Ernie Neff brings us up to date on the latest attempts to resolve the “free rider” issue, so called because imported orange juice gets benefits from Department of Citrus promotions and research without participating in the funding process for those efforts. Also at the start of this report, a reminder about the “Posters and Pastries” citrus research display scheduled for this Tuesday November 25, from 10 am to Noon at University of Florida’s Citrus Research and Education Center (CREC) at Lake Alfred.
Here is a series of reports about the new Citrus Commission Long Range Planning Committee’s first meeting recently. Lively discussion. In these reports are comments from Citrus Commission Chairman Ben Albritton Jr who appointed the committee (left).
Committee Chairman, grower and Citrus Commissioner David Wheeler also offers insights,
as does committee member Charlie Lucas of Consolidated Citrus (right). Also attending, grower and caretaking business owner Marvin Kahn (photo at bottom), who was also a Citrus Commissioner years ago.
What would you like a headline written 12 years from now to say about the FDOC and the Florida Citrus Commission? This question was posed to committee members in the first meeting of the Florida Citrus Commission’s Long Range Planning Committee held in Sebring. Southeast AgNet’s Ernie Neff files this report.
There were some differences of opinion between the committee members during discussion in this meeting and in this report Ernie tells us just what these differences are.
In this report, comments from Florida Citrus Commission Chairman Ben Albritton about progress being made toward finding a fix for the so-called “free rider” issue. He says Florida citrus growers want something done so imported orange juice helps pay for marketing and research efforts presently paid for solely by Florida growers.
In this post, citrus folks can find several features addressing several different topics. Among them, in this first report, grower Mark Wheeler of Wheeler Farms at Lake Placid talks about production matters and what some growers may consider with respect to the crop forecast and seasonal market expectations. We spoke to Wheeler shortly after the crop forecast was released earlier this month.
In this next report, info on an upcoming meeting of a new Long Range Planning Council that’s been set up through the Citrus Commission, and AgNet’s Ernie Neff has a preview of the upcoming November issue of Citrus Industry Magazine.
For these next two reports, Florida Senator J D Alexander discusses several issues important to the citrus industry in state political scene this season, including the status of the Sunset Review process of the Florida Dept of Citrus.
In report number five for this citrus news post, some pointed advice from one citrus grower who has been a leader in helping the industry deal with citrus greening disease and controls for the citrus psyllid. Jim Snively’s comments are from an interview we did with him at a grower meeting in recent weeks.
And in these final two reports in this post, FFVA researcher of the year Ron Muraro from UF’s Citrus Research and Education Center at Lake Alfred discusses fertilizer costs and some considerations for growers who may be looking for ways to mitigate the high cost of fertilization for their citrus groves these days.
Southeast Agnet’s Ernie Neff has a report on important discussions at last week’s FDOC meeting in Lakeland. FDOC Economist Mark Brown had news for the growers and more. Ernie files this report.
Recent discussions among industry and grower leaders trying to move forward to solve the so-called “free-rider” issue continue to bring new options to the table. In this report, Florida Citrus Commission Chairman Ben Albritton Jr discusses the main options on the table right now and in his words the different angles of each to consider. Albritton says it is growing closer to a time when the talks need to end and decisions need to be made.
In the first of these two reports, Southeast AgNet’s Ernie Neff reviews some of the considerations under discussion about trying to get wider participation in funding for citrus research and marketing efforts. In the second feature, Neff reports on more advertising dollars likely to be available for Department of Citrus advertising due to the higher than expected Florida citrus crop forecast.
In this report, comments from Florida Citrus Commission Chairman Ben Albritton, who is also a grower and grove caretaker business operator from Wauchula, about his thoughts for the Commission and the Florida Department of Citrus looking ahead.
Results of a recent referendum among fresh Florida citrus growers have been published by USDA. According to the results, ‘fresh’ growers voted to give the Citrus Administrative Committee authority to establish federal research and/or promotion programs for ‘fresh’ Florida citrus. Learn more about it and find out how this may impact Department of Citrus programs for fresh citrus, in these two reports. 
When Citrus Commissioners decided this month to pursue ONLY research in a Federal Order and not include marketing funding as part of the effort, it left some asking ‘Why not marketing too?” Answering that question in this report is Citrus Commissioner Bob Behr. He is with Florida’s Natural Growers and he heads up the committee of the Commission that spent lots of time studying this issue leading up to the Commission’s vote on the matter. 
The recently released book “Squeezed…” is making the rounds and ruffling a few feathers in the process. It appears some claims made by the book’s author, while not necessarily inaccurate, may be confusing people because of a negative tone of the claims being made. After seeing some of the hype about the book and related articles appearing about it recently in some newspapers and other media around the country, we decided to seek out the other side of the orange juice industry story, 
Confusion abounds among Florida citrus growers about a Federal Marketing Order being discussed that might bring in new funds for citrus research and maybe promotion too, depending on how the Order is structured. Some growers worry about losing control over citrus marketing efforts or research direction. Florida Citrus Mutual and others urged Citrus Commissioners Wednesday to pass a motion to pursue only research in an Order, but other grower groups, like the Indian River Citrus League, have not discussed it in detail yet. But in these two reports the League’s Doug Bournique says a standing room only grower crowd is expected this week on Thursday in Vero Beach to do just that. 
Several issues are up for discussion at this week’s Florida Citrus Commission meeting in Lakeland. Commissioners are wrestling with industry structure issues, research funding, marketing emphasis and a fix to the so-called “free-rider” issue, all in play at the same point in time. These two reports have comments from Chairman Ben Albritton Jr, speaking to us after his visit with Peace River Valley grower leaders on Tuesday in Wauchula. 
Senator J D Alexander has some wondering if there is any way now to get the ‘free rider’ fix effort back on track in the current Legislative Session. The Florida Citrus Commission/Department of Citrus and Florida Citrus Mutual have been working this issue in industry circles for months and months. In a communique to AgNet late today from the office of Florida Citrus Mutual CEO Mike Sparks, Sparks is quoted saying “We are still optimistic the proposal will move forward this session” adding that the bill’s language is still being developed by Senate staff but there has been no final draft put forth. Stay Tuned.
The Florida Department of Citrus unveiled their own version of a stimulus plan during their January meeting. Southeast AgNet’s Ernie Neff was there and gives us this report. 
While many in the citrus industry are elated that so much money has been made available by the Florida Department of Citrus (FDOC) and other sources to support HLB, or “citrus greening” research, many also remain concerned about the market overburdened with juice in the pipeline and cash prices to growers depressed as a result. Hear University of Florida economist Alan Morris’ comments in this report.
Citrus growers everywhere seem to be clamoring for some research answers to the growing problem of HLB, or “citrus greening disease”. But they are reminded it takes time for research to produce results and therefore patience and good planning is critical throughout the process. In these two reports, some important insight and information provided by citrus grower Peter McClure who also chairs the Florida Citrus Production Research Advisory Council, known to many growers simply as the “box tax council”. For one thing, McClure explains how a new group called ACT will fit into the process.
In this report, AgNet’s Ernie Neff (photo right) catches up with the Chairman of the Dept of Citrus’ Long Range Planning Committee, David Wheeler (photo left) for some comments about the progress of what appears to be a laborious and deep discussion process. 
In this report, comments from Florida Department of Citrus Executive Director Ken Keck about recent actions by the Citrus Commission to move the ball forward in terms of dealing with the so-called “free rider” issue where growers of citrus in other states and countries do not participate in funding of research and marketing programs like Florida growers do. Some recent commission efforts focus on getting processors more involved in the conversation directly.
offers insights,
committee member Charlie Lucas of Consolidated Citrus (right). Also attending, grower and caretaking business owner Marvin Kahn (photo at bottom), who was also a Citrus Commissioner years ago. 
