FLORIDA CITRUS GROWERS are in dire need of new orange trees, and two new early UF/IFAS-created Valencia orange varieties have the interest of nurseries and growers. Citrus greening, or HLB, has infected an estimated 80 percent of citrus trees in Florida groves, according to a survey conducted by UF/IFAS in April, and replacing dead or …
WILL INCREASED Florida citrus quality and better-tasting not-from-concentrate juice translate into increased consumption? Marty McKenna thinks so. McKenna is chairman of the board of the Florida Department of Citrus. He addressed the matter of Florida citrus quality — and the future of a highly challenged Florida citrus industry — during the Florida Citrus Mutual Annual …
TEN MONTHS OUT OF EACH YEAR, during the citrus harvesting season, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agriculture Statistics Service provides an estimate of Florida citrus production. The estimates, which also include citrus grown in California and Texas as well as projected yields for frozen concentrated orange juice, begin in October (the first report for …
More than just a symbol of hope, growers keep up the fight against citrus greening THE ROUNDUP of news on the most recent harvesting season is in keeping with the citrus forecast’s unsteady tempo of up-and-down, down-and-up — but with the steady “can-do” attitude of growers. Things can get better, industry leaders say — but …
Incentive programs and cutting-edge research keep growers planting EVEN THOUGH it is predicted that Florida’s orange crops will decrease by millions this year, industry leaders remain optimistic about the future.
THE GOVERNMENT is intensifying the war on Huanglongbing, or HLB, as the disease tightens its grip on Florida’s citrus industry. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) projected Feb. 10 that Florida will harvest 103 million boxes of oranges this season, down two percent from last year, the lowest on record.
Where would we be without peanuts and peanut butter? Kids would be eating a lot of boring jelly sandwiches, that’s for sure. And a bunch of Florida farmers would be growing a different crop. About six percent of all the peanuts grown in this country come from Florida soil, mostly in the Panhandle and the …
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In the photo: Larry Black with wife Jenny and kids Julia and Varn are among many Florida citrus growers who are in it for the long haul. | Growers making gains against greening | VIC STORY JR. grew up in the middle of an orange grove his father planted. So, in his 66 years he’s …
