By Frank Giles
Members of Peace River Valley Citrus Growers Association gathered in Arcadia last week for its annual meeting and dinner. Updates were provided on association business, orange juice marketing and citrus Extension activities.
Matt Joyner, executive vice president/CEO of Florida Citrus Mutual, also gave an update on the 2022 state legislative session. He said the citrus industry scored some important wins during the session.
“With the challenges this industry faces, it is more important than ever that your grower organizations like Peace River Valley Citrus Growers Association, Florida Citrus Mutual and others really work together to solve problems and do all that we can to help growers move forward in this greening era to be profitable and successful,” Joyner said. “When you show a unified front as an industry, it really allows us to get a lot accomplished. That brings me to this past legislative session, which by any standard, was a success for this industry. We were able to get substantial funding to continue research into citrus greening. We also got money for marketing efforts and dollars to expedite development of promising varieties like the Donaldson and Tobias.”
Joyner highlighted several important funding measures passed during the legislative session:
- $8 million dedicated to citrus research
- $6.2 million for the Citrus Health Response Program
- $17 million for citrus marketing efforts
- $1 million for the New Varieties Development and Management Corporation
- $3 million to expedite propagation of budwood from promising varieties
- $ 2 million in supplemental funds to cover various industry expenses
“When you look at how successful we were in the appropriations process, it shows the support this industry continues to have from the Florida legislature,” Joyner said.
