Connect with us

Hi, what are you looking for?

Trending News

Florida Citrus Growers May Soon Receive $200 Million in State Support

Florida’s struggling citrus industry may be on the verge of a significant boost, as a state Senate committee has proposed allocating $200 million in the upcoming fiscal budget to aid in its recovery.

Under the proposal, about $190 million would be directed toward field trials aimed at improving grove management, testing disease-resistant citrus varieties, and evaluating therapeutic tools to combat citrus greening. A significant portion—approximately $125 million—would specifically cover the cost of acquiring new citrus trees.

Senate President Ben Albritton detailed the proposal in a recent press release, emphasizing that the funds are intended to support both replanting efforts and the rehabilitation of existing groves.

Initially, 60 percent of the funding would be made available to mid-sized growers with citrus groves ranging from five to fewer than 2,500 acres. After the first phase, any unallocated funds would be open to all citrus producers.

<

Matt Joyner, CEO of Florida Citrus Mutual, expressed optimism about the funding plan and its potential impact on growers.

“This funding could go a long way towards advancing those priorities and making sure that this industry is recovering and that we are using all the tools in the toolbox to conquer greening,” Joyner told Bay News 9.

Although the bill’s final approval is still pending, industry leaders are hopeful the measure will earn bipartisan support in the legislature.

Meanwhile, an investigation by the U.S. Coast Guard and Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) remains ongoing in a separate matter not directly related to the funding initiative.

Archives

Related Articles

Advertisement
Florida Daily
Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.

HOW WE COLLECT E-MAIL INFORMATION:

If you sign up to subscribe to Florida Daily’s e-mail newsletter, you will provide us your e-mail address and name, voluntarily, and we will never obtain any of your contact information that you don’t voluntarily provide.

HOW WE USE AN E-MAIL ADDRESS IF YOU VOLUNTARILY PROVIDE IT TO US:

If you voluntarily provide us with your name and email address, we will use it to send you one email update per weekday. Your email address will not be given to any third parties.

YOUR CONTROLS:

You will have the option to unsubscribe to our E-mail update at anytime by clicking an unsubscribe link that will be provided in each E-Mail we send.