Florida Department of Citrus and Florida Citrus Mutual Head to Tallahassee
February has been a month full of twists and turns, but the Florida Department of Citrus (FDOC) along with our partners at Florida Citrus Mutual (FCM), have been hard at work. Beginning in January and through February, leadership on both sides were in Tallahassee advocating for the industry that not only grows Florida’s state fruit but has an annual economic impact of $6.9 billion.
After the USDA Citrus Crop Forecast was released earlier this month, media coverage focused on comparing our current citrus crop estimate to the industry’s heydays from the mid-1990s to the early-2000s. While this is largely perceived as negative, it also underscores how we have persevered despite what is the greatest challenge we’ve ever faced as an industry. That being said, there needs to be some focus on how we are facing those challenges head on. As one example, since 2021, Florida growers have replanted and reset 3.7 million trees over nearly 20,000 acres. High-density grove plantings are the primary science-based strategy here— we are planting more trees on less acreage. The FDOC and FCM are focused on advocating for legislative support that will help us put more greening-tolerant trees in the ground, spearhead research that is showing the most promise, and keep demand for our premium product that’s made from Florida’s state fruit flowing strong.
During the Senate Committee Meeting on February 4, FDOC Executive Director Shannon Shepp and FCM Executive Vice President & CEO Matt Joyner each gave presentations that can be summed up like this:
- Though citrus greening has been around for more than 100 years worldwide, in the most recent 20, and with a collective effort, scientific advancements in the fight against this disease have taken a leap forward.
- We are an industry under attack on multiple fronts— first citrus greening followed by a succession of four major hurricanes from 2017 to 2024 has, no doubt, trimmed us back significantly from our prominence. As the state’s signature crop, to say that citrus is sewn into the fabric of Florida’s identity and culture is an understatement.
- Ultimately, the path forward and defeating citrus greening will be multi-layered: a greening resistant tree (or trees) combined with treatments for existing trees, as well as growing citrus under protective screens (CUPS) are all part of that multi-layered solution.
- Marketing is critical to the security of our industry’s future as we focus on reset and recovery. According to Forbes, modern consumers are presented with approximately 4,000 to 10,000 messages per day. Read that again. Marketing today is not anything like the 1960s; it’s not even anything like the 1990s. It’s interesting to me though, how some lessons are timeless. I agree with Mrs. Shepp when she harkened to the advice of Henry Ford: “Stopping advertising to save money is like stopping your watch to save time.”
As the FDOC and FCM continue to advocate for support to help rebuild the citrus industry, I want to encourage you to use all the tools in the shed available as you carry on. Be on the lookout for the five new varieties being made available via 22 nurseries through the 2024-25 Program for Expedited Propagation.
Steve Johnson is Chairman of the Florida Citrus Commission, which oversees the Florida Department of Citrus. He is the owner and general manager of Johnson Harvesting, Inc., based in Wauchula, FL.
