USDA Amending the Federal Marketing Order for Florida Citrus

September 1, 2023 USDA AMS

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced Florida citrus producers voted to amend the federal marketing order regulating the handling of oranges, grapefruit, tangerines, and pummelos grown in Florida.

How to Save the Florida Citrus Industry?

Imagine a devastating plant disease that sweeps the land, decimating crops. For Florida’s citrus growers, that apocalyptic vision is not a horror movie, but a reality: since it was first identified in the Sunshine State in 2005, citrus greening disease has reduced Florida’s citrus production by a whopping 70%. Without any treatment or cure available, desperate growers have cut down infected trees or abandoned their groves entirely. Scientists have been racing to come up with a solution. Now, one enterprising team believes it may have one, in the form of: stingrays.

Florida Growers Back Bill to Forbid Chinese Citrus Imports

A bill to ban the importation of all citrus from China has gained bipartisan support in Florida, where growers have invested billions of dollars to battle citrus greening disease that came from Asia.