Jim Rosica
With the state’s citrus industry in free-fall, Florida’s leading growers are calling for the Department of Citrus to “be scaled back considerably,” saying they “do not believe current marketing programs are generating an economic return.”
A dozen growers, including Florida Citrus Hall of Famer Ben Hill Griffin III, signed and sent a letter Monday to Florida Citrus Commission chairman Ellis Hunt Jr., with copies to Gov. Rick Scott, Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam, House Speaker Steve Crisafulli – scion of a prominent citrus family – and others.
A copy of the letter was released Tuesday after a public-records request by FloridaPolitics.com, though it was separately obtained and posted online the same day by Southeast AgNet, an agriculture news site.
The department, a state agency that reports to a commission appointed by the governor, is “charged with the marketing, research and regulation of the Florida citrus industry” and is funded “by a tax paid by growers on each box of citrus that moves through commercial channels,” its website explains.
An so-far incurable disease called citrus greening is attacking the fruit, causing it to turn green and bitter, and eventually killing the tree. Florida’s famous oranges are most at risk.
Because the citrus crop is nosediving, so are the department’s finances.
Revenue, including assessments and taxes, has gone down from $65.3 million in 2003-04 to $25.6 million this fiscal year and is expected to plummet to $7.3 million next year, according to the department’s own financial analyses.
“The impact of citrus greening disease has been overwhelming and unprecedented, and it is not an exaggeration to state that we are in a struggle for our survival,” the letter says. “(The) undersigned believe that as the industry makes dramatic changes, it is prudent to consider significant modifications to the Department of Citrus to … give the industry the best chance to survive and eventually rebuild.”
“Payrolls have been dramatically cut,” it says. “Growers are scaling back or eliminating caretaking efforts in many groves because fruit production is low, and the on-tree value of the crop even at today’s historically high prices does not cover grove care costs.”
The letter’s signers “believe the activities of the Citrus Commission and the Department of Citrus should be scaled back considerably,” they said. “(B)ecause of the dramatic crop declines, we believe the Department does not have adequate resources to ‘move the needle’ (and) we do not believe the current marketing programs are generating an economic return for Florida growers.
“… While robust marketing programs are not needed to support the marketplace today (nor can we afford them in any event), the industry will undoubtedly need aggressive marketing programs one day in the future after we recover from greening and return to historical production levels,” the letter continues.
“It is therefore imperative that the industry preserve the Department of Citrus and the Commission,” but with a “greatly streamlined budget.”
Their recommendations include: “Major marketing programs should be idled and the budget should provide for minimal public relations only (maintain web site, some advocacy efforts, debunking inaccurate press regarding orange and grapefruit juice and fresh fruit consumption)” and “Idle new scientific and economic and market research projects.”
The growers are calling for about a $7 million budget for next fiscal year that zeroes out “advertising and promotion.”
“While these steps represent dramatic change, they are in line with economic reality,” the letter says. “… We understand the hardship our request will cause and the effect on personnel at the Department. We do not take that fact lightly and we stand ready to work closely with the Commission to help achieve a positive outcome. It is also our belief that we will survive this threat and in the near future thrive as an industry again.”
A call to Hunt, the Citrus Commission’s chairman, was not returned Tuesday. A spokeswoman for Putnam, whose family owns Putnam Groves in Bartow, also did not respond to a request for comment.
In an email, Citrus Department spokesman David Steele said commissioners have “charged staff with responding to significant decreases in our revenue, based on reduced crop sizes and possible reductions in tax rates.”
“We will continue to plan for dramatic reductions, and the Commission is expected to take up the matter at its next meeting,” he said. A public notice of that meeting was not posted on the department’s website as of Tuesday evening.
Jim Rosica ([email protected]) covers the Florida Legislature, state agencies and courts from Tallahassee.
