To provide California citrus growers with a strong toolbox of options to protect their orchards from Huanglongbing (HLB), the Citrus Pest & Disease Prevention Committee has endorsed the following “Best Practices for Growers in Response to HLB in California.” The recommendations – which are grouped based on a grower’s proximity to an HLB detection – [...]
The Citrus Pest and Disease Prevention Program will receive an additional $2.5 million in continuous funding from the State General Fund this year to create a dedicated citrus division at the Department of Food and Agriculture. The funding was requested by CDFA and approved by the legislature as part of the 2019 Budget Act passed [...]
Last week Texas, Florida and California Citrus Mutuals were summoned to Washington for a discussion on the utilization of dollars in the three main citrus producing states to offset challenges from ACP/HLB. For FY 18/19 Congress had increased appropriations but budget dollars were not passed until January 2019. USDA was concerned about “the wise use” [...]
The Citrus Pest & Disease Prevention Committee (CPDPC) announces the addition of Kevin Ball as the new grower representative for the coastal district position. Kevin Ball will advise the committee on the latest citrus grower activities occurring in the coastal area. The CPDPC advises the Secretary and the agricultural industry about efforts to combat serious [...]
California Citrus Mutual was recently awarded a Specialty Crop Block Grant to continue the residential citrus tree removal program in the HLB quarantine area. The “Remove My Citrus” initiative is a free, voluntary program offered to residents in Los Angeles, Orange, and Riverside Counties to help stop the spread of HLB. The program began in [...]
In the 2014 Farm Bill, Florida and California Citrus Mutual were successful in inserting a research program specific to ACP/HLB. It allocated $25 million a year for research across the country in this vital area. In the 2018 version, Florida and California were joined by Texas to sustain the effort and were successful in that [...]
Often it “appears” that Citrus Mutual expresses frustration or opposition to APHIS and their proposals. They are the agency tasked with the responsibility of protecting agriculture from invasive pests and diseases as well as establishing protocols for allowing off shore product into the United States that could vector pest and disease. Thus their responsibility ranges [...]
For several years, Citrus Mutual has actively engaged with members of the State Legislature about the threat of Huanglongbing and the industry’s efforts to protect urban and commercial citrus trees. The reception has consistently been supportive by both rural and urban legislators. Now, as the number of HLB detections continue to rise and the quarantined [...]
The Citrus Pest and Disease Prevention Committee (CPDPC) recently released its 2017-2018 Annual Report which included the below message from their Chairman Jim Gorden: “For more than two centuries, citrus has grown strong in California’s yards and groves – serving as a source of nourishment, income and tradition for many different individuals – but all [...]
Last week we summarized the CCM Directors and members of the Government Relations committee trip to Sacramento to meet with legislators, regulatory agencies, and the administration on key policy issues impacting the industry. This week we have put together an in-depth description of the meetings that took place on the second day of the trip [...]