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Jim RosicaNovember 4, 2017

U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue has appointed state Rep. Neil Combee as Florida State Director of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Farm Service Agency (FSA), the department announced in a news release Friday night. Combee could not be reached late Friday. (Update: He later told the News Chief he will resign his House District […]

Susan WashingtonSeptember 19, 2017

At the Organic Food and Farming Summit — this week in Gainesville, Florida — everything old is new again, and citrus growers attending the conference said they are turning to time-tested agricultural methods, which don’t use chemical fertilizer or chemical pesticides and relying on plant breeding to control the incurable disease that has devastated Florida’s […]

Jim RosicaJuly 12, 2017

Squeeze ’em while you got ’em: Florida’s orange crop “increased slightly while grapefruit production held steady,” the Florida Department of Citrus announced Wednesday. That news is according to the final forecast for the 2016-17 season by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service. “The July report projected the state’s orange crop increased by 200,000 […]

Jim RosicaJune 9, 2017

Florida orange production went up a bit and grapefruit production leveled off, according to the latest forecast by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service. The Florida Department of Citrus announced the estimates Friday. “The June report projects the state’s orange crop to increase by 500,000 boxes to 68.5 million for the 2016-17 season,” its press […]

Jim RosicaMay 10, 2017

Another bag of mixed news for Florida’s signature crops: Orange production actually increased while grapefruit production has declined. That’s according to the latest forecast released Wednesday from the the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service, or NASS. “The May report projects the state’s orange crop to increase to 68 million boxes for the 2016-17 season,” said a press […]

Jim RosicaApril 11, 2017

The bad news in citrus: “Grapefruit production declined.” The good news: “Florida orange production remained steady.” That’s the upshot of the latest forecast by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service, according to the Florida Department of Citrus (FDOC). “The April report projects the state’s orange crop to stay at 67 million boxes […]

Jim RosicaMarch 9, 2017

The forecast for Florida orange production has dropped again, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, down a whopping three million boxes. The March report, released Thursday, projects a reduction in the state’s orange crop to 67 million boxes. “Two million of that comes from the early and mid-season varieties, which are now fully harvested,” […]

Jim RosicaFebruary 9, 2017

Florida’s grapefruit crop held steady at nine million boxes, but its orange crop went down slightly, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture‘s February forecast. Thursday’s report projects a one million box reduction in the state’s orange crop to 70 million boxes. That’s after last month’s forecast also predicted a decrease. “Today’s forecast reflects a true utilization of […]

Staff ReportsFebruary 6, 2017

Congressman Vern Buchanan announced Monday federal money for citrus greening has been awarded to researchers working to find a cure for the devastating disease. In the most recent round of funding, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) awarded $13.6 million to citrus greening research projects. The funding was made possible by a USDA program the […]

Jim RosicaJanuary 12, 2017

The latest estimates show “a slight decrease” in Florida orange production to 71 million boxes for the 2016-17 season, according to the Florida Department of Citrus. The department on Thursday shared the results of the most recent U.S. Department of Agriculture forecast, the first in 2017. The state’s citrus industry has been hurt by the citrus greening epidemic. The so-far incurable disease […]

Tag: U. S. Department of Agriculture

Personnel note: Neil Combee tapped for USDA job

At Organic Food & Farming Summit, everything old is new again

Orange production up a bit, latest estimate shows

Latest forecast: Oranges up, grapefruit steady

Reversal of fortune: Citrus forecast says oranges up, grapefruit down

Citrus forecast generally holds steady, USDA says

Orange, grapefruit crop forecasts take another hit

More bad news as Florida orange crop drops again

Vern Buchanan says citrus greening aid finally bearing fruit

Citrus crop production trending down again ‘slightly’