The Citrus Research Board hosted their annual seminar series this month in Palm Desert, Santa Paula, and Exeter. Attendees heard important updates on a wide range of topics relating to pest and disease management, early detection tools for Huanglongbing, county agricultural commissioner activities, and the Voluntary Grower Action Plan developed by the Citrus Pest and Disease Prevention Program.
At the Palm Desert and Exeter seminars, CCM President Casey Creamer provided an update on CCM activities, highlighting the areas where staff is working to make a difference on behalf of the grower. Collaboration, he stressed, is needed to meet the industry’s biggest challenges.
“The industry is facing significant challenges on trade, pest and disease, labor, and water,” stated Creamer.
“These issues will require strong partnerships to be addressed successfully. A cure for HLB will only be found if the best research minds work together alongside the industry, research organizations across the country, and the state and federal governments. The interests across the country related to trade and labor are vexing, but real solutions are viable if we work to find areas of common ground and advocate as a unified voice. The traditional localized approach to solving water issues must be expanded. We should be growing the size of the pie, not fighting over individual shares.
“CCM is fostering relationships to tackle all of these challenges and I am optimistic that much can be accomplished on behalf of the grower,” concludes Creamer.
