On September 26, 2019, leaders from the California citrus industry and the University of California, Riverside gathered to celebrate the grand opening of a Biosafety Level-3 Lab that will be used by researchers to identify a cure for the devastating citrus plant disease Huanglongbing, or HLB. The state-of-the-art lab is the product of a partnership [...]
Dr. Wendy Jin, the Executive Director of the USDA-APHIS-PPQ Science and Technology, Scott Pfister with USDA-APHIS-PPQ Laboratory Director, and Dr. Greg Simmons, USDA-APHIS CPHST Laboratory came to California to visit with science and technology personnel, projects, and cooperators, which included the Citrus Research Board and the Citrus Pest and Disease Program Committee. Dr. Jin’s background [...]
On Monday, the executive committee for the California Citrus Research Foundation held a conference call with CRB leadership and the UC Riverside containment director about the status of the facility’s USDA certification, occupancy prospects, and equipment and facility functions. We were notified that USDA is authorizing specific members of the research committee to access the [...]
Riverside County Board of Supervisors was persuaded to reverse its decision to drastically reduce its budget for UC Cooperative Extension from $674,064 to $112,000 on Monday, June 10th at its public budget meeting. The UC Cooperative Extension partnership with Riverside County is over 100 years old and has always been a highly productive partnership that [...]
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 [...]
The industry sponsored BSL3 facility being built in Riverside jumped a major hurdle this past Tuesday. A containment facility of this sort must past a certification inspection conducted by USDA. The only other facility that can research critical bacteria or virus needs for agriculture is located on the Davis campus and is significantly over subscribed [...]
How close you ask? The facility passed a final pre-certification test last week and now the California Citrus Research Foundation (CCRF) awaits confirmation from USDA as to when they will visit, inspect, and ultimately communicate the lab is open for business. A vision started by the University of California Riverside was given life when the [...]
Historically the relationship with the California citrus industry and the Agricultural Research Service/USDA had been a strong one but in recent years the relationship has been tested. Staff changes at ARS, a clear need to focus on HLB in Florida and priority reduction for California needs has frustrated industry research leaders and most notably the [...]
The Citrus Research Board (CRB) has launched a nationwide search for a new president for the organization and a search committee is being formed. “This year marks the Citrus Research Board’s 50th anniversary,” said CRB Chairman Dan Dreyer. “As we celebrate this milestone, we also are rededicating ourselves to do our utmost to ensure the [...]
The Senate Agriculture Committee on Wednesday passed the Agriculture Improvement Act by a vote of 20 - 1. Majority Leader McConnell has committed to consider the bill prior to the 4th of July congressional work period. For the citrus industry and the Specialty Crop Farm Bill Alliance, many of our policy and resource request were accepted [...]
