In a message below, Mike Sparks, executive vice president/CEO of Florida Citrus Mutual, reports positive news on the current status of the citrus industry’s agenda items in the legislative session. Dear FCM Board and Members: It’s been a whirlwind 2016 in Tallahassee and with a week left in the scheduled legislative session, I have some very positive news to share. …

Today’s issue of Citrus Industry This Week includes information on a drastically reduced Florida Department of Citrus budget that growers are proposing as well as results of the Florida Citrus Research Order Referendum. Want to learn more? Click here to subscribe. Click here to subscribe to the monthly Citrus Industry magazine. Sponsored ContentCIR Agriculture Harvester ProductsMarch 1, 2025Nuseed Carinata Covers …

The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services announced that Florida’s citrus growers reauthorized the Florida citrus research order in a statutorily required referendum conducted by the department. More than 87 percent of ballots received by the department were in favor of reauthorization. Sponsored ContentCIR Agriculture Harvester ProductsMarch 1, 2025Nuseed Carinata Covers New GroundOctober 1, 2024TriEst Ag Group: Partners in …

A group of growers, processors and fresh fruit packers who share a deep concern about the grave economic situation facing the Florida citrus industry have submitted a formal request to Florida Citrus Commission Chairman G. Ellis Hunt Jr. The group is asking for very significant modifications to the Florida Department of Citrus (FDOC) programs to adapt to the crisis and …

The Miss Florida Citrus Pageant will be held on March 19 in Winter Haven at Theatre Winter Haven. This is a Miss America preliminary pageant, so contestants must have a talent. The pageant is open to all women between the ages of 17 and 24 that either reside in Florida or attend school in Florida (for at least the past …

WASHINGTON, Feb. 8, 2016 – The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) today awarded $20.1 million in grants to university researchers for research and Extension projects to help citrus producers fight huanglongbing (HLB), commonly known as citrus greening disease. This funding is available through the Specialty Crop Research Initiative (SCRI) Citrus Disease Research and Extension Program (CDRE), which was authorized by …

The public comment period has been published in the federal register at https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2016-01-27/pdf/2016-01659.pdf for the Section 18 use of bactericides in Florida citrus against HLB. Note that the specific notice starts at the bottom right of page one of the link. It is likely that various points of view will be expressed in the comments that can be submitted up …

The February issue includes an article good for one Core CEU. Earn one core continuing education unit (CEU) by reading the Citrus Industry article, “Integrated pest management and control measures,” and passing the accompanying test. The article, authored by University of Florida’s Cami Esmel McAvoy and Alicia Whidden, is now available online and will appear in the February 2016 issue …

In a letter to the Florida Citrus Mutual (FCM) board of directors and friends of the association, FCM Executive Vice President/CEO Mike Sparks wrote the following: I would like to share some great news during this holiday season! Late last week, Congress passed “The Protecting Americans from Tax Hikes Act of 2015 (PATH Act)”. The bill extended bonus depreciation for …