USDA Official Clarifies Florida’s Citrus Canker Rule

Michael Hornyak of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Citrus Health Response Program in this series of interviews with Southeast AgNet’s Gary Cooper clarifies changes to the citrus canker rule in Florida. In the first report, he notes that a canker quarantine remains in place, but has been altered to allow fresh fruit to move to other citrus producing states. In …

FL Commissioner Spotlight on the Florida Ag Stats Directory

This week’s Commissioner’s Spotlight from Florida Agriculture Commissioner Charles Bronson is about the ’09 Florida Agriculture Statistical Directory. To view the directory online as a PDF file, click on FL Ag Stats Directory. To order a hardcopy of the directory, click on Brochures and Publications. The Florida Agriculture Statistical Directory is listed third on the online order form. Sponsored ContentFlorida …

Research Foundation, Citrus Commission Making News

The Citrus Research and Development Foundation Tuesday will interview three Chief Operating Officer finalists; the person chosen will head this group that will soon administer research funds. In an historic move, the Florida Citrus Commission Wednesday will meet in Bartow, where the Florida Department of Citrus will soon be housed; this comes after 70-plus years of meetings in Lakeland. Southeast …

Florida’s Fresh Citrus Industry – A Holiday Update

This series on Florida’s fresh citrus industry is based primarily on interviews with Florida Citrus Packers Executive Vice President Richard Kinney and Citrus Administrative Committee Manager Duke Chadwell.It begins by discussing the importance of the holiday season to Florida growers and packers, and with reports of reduced shipments so far this season compared to recent seasons. The new canker rule …

USDA Announces Final Analysis on Climate Change Legislation

The final analysis on the impact of proposed energy and climate change legislation is completed as Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack gives us an overview of the findings. Secretary Vilsack acknowledges that specialty crops will not see much of a benefit in a carbon sequestration system, but says that they have some preliminary plans to assist growers. Sponsored ContentFlorida Cattle …

FL Commissioner’s Spotlight on the 2009 Farm to Fuel Summit

This week’s Commissioner’s Spotlight from Florida Agriculture Commissioner Charles Bronson is on the 2009 Farm to Fuel Summit held in Orlando this past summer to explore ways of using crops and other biomass materials to provide ethanol and bio-diesel fuel to meet our energy needs. For more information about Farm to Fuel and to view the presentations made by the …

Citrus Tour Focuses on Alternative Greening Treatments

Fifty growers and production managers took a full-day bus tour a week before Thanksgiving to see how nutritional sprays and so-called systemic acquired resistance (SAR) products are working in some greening-infected groves in Southwest Florida. The tour, organized by Peace River Valley Citrus Growers Association, started and finished in Arcadia and included several stops near Immokalee. Southeast AgNet’s Ernie Neff …

Gubernatorial Candidate Sink Visits Florida Citrus Mutual

Florida Chief Financial Officer and gubernatorial candidate Alex Sink shared her views about agriculture, and citrus in particular, with Florida Citrus Mutual’s Board of Directors Wednesday. In this interview with Southeast AgNet’s Ernie Neff, she discusses her support for the University of Florida-IFAS, her view of Florida Citrus Commission membership, and more. In the photo, Sink talks with Mutual CEO …

FL Dept of Citrus Ad Agency Search Committee Meeting Report

This report has a general overview of the conference call of the Florida Department of Citrus Advertising Agency Evaluation Committee. The committee met this week via conference call to discuss issues related to the search for a new advertising agency for the Florida Dept of Citrus account. Post sponsorCopper coverage with Less Metallic Copper/acre. Sponsored ContentFlorida Cattle Enhancement Board Funding …

Growers/Packers Move Forward w/ New Citrus Canker Shipping Rule

Florida citrus growers, packers, shippers, and their customers in other U. S. citrus producing states and territories celebrate a new USDA rule allowing Florida fruit to return to those markets. Vero Beach grower-packer-shipper Dan Richey at Riverfront Packing says the new rule took unprecedented collaboration among many people and entities to accomplish. In this brief and timely interview with Southeast …