By Clint Thompson
The Georgia Citrus Association celebrated 10 years on Tuesday with its annual meeting at the University of Georgia Tifton Campus Conference Center in Tifton, Georgia.
Lindy Savelle, executive director of the Georgia Citrus Association (GCA) and member of the Georgia Citrus Commission, highlighted the growth of the citrus industry over the last decade and the continued growth throughout South Georgia.
“When we first started 10 years ago, we went from 27 people in a room to 278 in our first meeting. We’ve not reached that number again, but we still have continued interest,” Savelle said. “I think Georgia had interest, more so than other states for the growth of citrus.
“There’s people coming that are new. I had someone come today and say, ‘My family is thinking about putting in citrus.’ I get calls all the time from people saying, ‘Can you come talk to us about citrus, or can we come to your farm or your nursery?’ It’s still continuing to grow, and there’s still hope and enthusiasm.”
Conference Specifics
‘Securing a Resilient Future for Georgia Citrus’ was the theme of the annual conference and was emphasized in the various presentations given by industry experts; including those from Brazil where members of the GCA visited last year to learn how to continue growing amid citrus greening disease.
Georgia acres and number of trees have grown steadily. In 2023, Georgia had reached 570,760 citrus trees and 3,963 acres. The following year there were 4,400 acres planted with approximately 638,000 trees.
“Georgia is something special. People in California told us. People in Brazil have told us that. People in Florida have told us that. We’ve got the soil, great weather, great soil and great people that know how to grow things already and are looking for an opportunity to diversify,” Savelle said.