Florida citrus industry faces possible fresh fruit quarantine
Florida citrus industry faces possible fresh fruit quarantine
A quarantine on shipping Florida-grown citrus to other citrus-producing states is the last thing the already-distressed industry needs -- but that is exactly what it is potentially facing.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture is contemplating placing the state under a canker quarantine, thereby preventing shipments to other citrus-producing states in the coming season.
The Florida Department of Agriculture would prefer, alternatively, to have area quarantines. Doing so would allow shipments of citrus products from areas that are not affected by citrus canker or greening.
The evolution of the Florida citrus industry has been riddled with a seemingly endless list of extreme challenges over the past decade, with little sign of an "over the rainbow" scenario entering the picture in the foreseeable future.
Citrus canker has taken a devastating toll on the industry since the mid-1990s. Until the hurricane seasons of 2004 and 2005, the disease was being controlled - even potentially eliminated - through the implementation of a canker-eradication program under which the Florida Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services held the responsibility for overseeing eradication of infected trees as well as those located within 1,900 feet of a canker find. The USDA funded the program, and it was considered successful until the hurricane season of 2004, when four major storms ravaged the state. Then, in October 2005, Hurricane Wilma carved a path directly through some of the state's primary citrus regions. Winds and rains caused canker spores to spread uncontrollably, and the result changed the state of eradication completely.
In January, the USDA delivered devastating news to the Florida citrus industry. Officials advised FDACS Commissioner Charles H. Bronson that its scientific analysis indicated that it was no longer possible to eradicate citrus canker and that a new management plan had to be devised. With funding withdrawn, the FDACS had no choice but to stop the program immediately, with the exception of the ongoing removal of disease-infected trees. It was sobering news for an industry that had fought for so many years to battle canker, and equally saddening to those within the FDACS who had worked for so many years to free the state from the grip of the disease.
When the USDA lowered its "no more funding" boom, Liz Compton, FDACS spokesperson, said, "We are in a control and suppress mode. In response to the USDA's announcement - and also the news that it will no longer fund tree removal that is done with eradication as its goal - the canker program is no longer in effect. We have spent the past several years working to get rid of canker in the state through this program, and it is very frustrating to now have to give it up."
When the news of a possible quarantine was announced earlier this month, Ms. Compton told The Produce News that the FDACS agreed with USDA that having area quarantines, such as are in effect currently, are necessary.
"Fruit that is harvested in areas located within 3,800 feet from an infection is not shipped to other citrus-producing states," she said. "But scientific research has shown that fruit outside of this zone does not pose a risk. The ramifications of such a move could prove devastating to an already nearly crippled industry."
Ms. Compton explained that if a quarantine were put into place, it would mean that Florida citrus fruit could not be shipped to California, Texas, Arizona and the European Union.
"The EU is considered a citrus-producing state or territory, and so it is included in the listing," she explained. "The quarantine zone would also potentially include Louisiana."
Officials from the FDACS will travel to Washington in late May to discuss the issue with USDA officials and to do their best to dispute such a decision. They are proposing an alternative plan that would require grove inspections 60 days before harvest and stricter sanitary procedures at packinghouses in the state. They will reiterate the fact that a statewide quarantine cannot be supported scientifically.
Ms. Compton said that if the Florida representatives are not successful in convincing the USDA of what it claims are the risk factors, the quarantine would go into effect with the coming 2006-07 crop. Although it will be months before a first official crop report is released, early predictions indicate that volume in the coming season will be low because of the very dry weather the state has had this year. A quarantine, added to a disappointing crop report, would be an additional hardship for growers.
When the USDA withdrew funding for the canker eradication program earlier in 2006, the announcement was made that a new Citrus Heath Response Plan would be developed. Rather than covering only canker, the CHRP will address a myriad of diseases and other problems that affect citrus.
"New regulations, such as enclosing newly constructed citrus nurseries, will be included in CHRP," said Ms. Compton. "It will be a living document in that it will be amended to accommodate variables as new issues and problems arise. It will include decontamination protocol, best-management practices, insecticide and fertilizer applications, and much more."
The USDA and Plant Health Inspection Service released a draft of CHRP in March that established minimum standards to safeguard citrus production and nursery stock from citrus canker, greening and other diseases. Ms. Compton said that it would likely be some time before a final draft is issued.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture is contemplating placing the state under a canker quarantine, thereby preventing shipments to other citrus-producing states in the coming season.
The Florida Department of Agriculture would prefer, alternatively, to have area quarantines. Doing so would allow shipments of citrus products from areas that are not affected by citrus canker or greening.
The evolution of the Florida citrus industry has been riddled with a seemingly endless list of extreme challenges over the past decade, with little sign of an "over the rainbow" scenario entering the picture in the foreseeable future.
Citrus canker has taken a devastating toll on the industry since the mid-1990s. Until the hurricane seasons of 2004 and 2005, the disease was being controlled - even potentially eliminated - through the implementation of a canker-eradication program under which the Florida Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services held the responsibility for overseeing eradication of infected trees as well as those located within 1,900 feet of a canker find. The USDA funded the program, and it was considered successful until the hurricane season of 2004, when four major storms ravaged the state. Then, in October 2005, Hurricane Wilma carved a path directly through some of the state's primary citrus regions. Winds and rains caused canker spores to spread uncontrollably, and the result changed the state of eradication completely.
In January, the USDA delivered devastating news to the Florida citrus industry. Officials advised FDACS Commissioner Charles H. Bronson that its scientific analysis indicated that it was no longer possible to eradicate citrus canker and that a new management plan had to be devised. With funding withdrawn, the FDACS had no choice but to stop the program immediately, with the exception of the ongoing removal of disease-infected trees. It was sobering news for an industry that had fought for so many years to battle canker, and equally saddening to those within the FDACS who had worked for so many years to free the state from the grip of the disease.
When the USDA lowered its "no more funding" boom, Liz Compton, FDACS spokesperson, said, "We are in a control and suppress mode. In response to the USDA's announcement - and also the news that it will no longer fund tree removal that is done with eradication as its goal - the canker program is no longer in effect. We have spent the past several years working to get rid of canker in the state through this program, and it is very frustrating to now have to give it up."
When the news of a possible quarantine was announced earlier this month, Ms. Compton told The Produce News that the FDACS agreed with USDA that having area quarantines, such as are in effect currently, are necessary.
"Fruit that is harvested in areas located within 3,800 feet from an infection is not shipped to other citrus-producing states," she said. "But scientific research has shown that fruit outside of this zone does not pose a risk. The ramifications of such a move could prove devastating to an already nearly crippled industry."
Ms. Compton explained that if a quarantine were put into place, it would mean that Florida citrus fruit could not be shipped to California, Texas, Arizona and the European Union.
"The EU is considered a citrus-producing state or territory, and so it is included in the listing," she explained. "The quarantine zone would also potentially include Louisiana."
Officials from the FDACS will travel to Washington in late May to discuss the issue with USDA officials and to do their best to dispute such a decision. They are proposing an alternative plan that would require grove inspections 60 days before harvest and stricter sanitary procedures at packinghouses in the state. They will reiterate the fact that a statewide quarantine cannot be supported scientifically.
Ms. Compton said that if the Florida representatives are not successful in convincing the USDA of what it claims are the risk factors, the quarantine would go into effect with the coming 2006-07 crop. Although it will be months before a first official crop report is released, early predictions indicate that volume in the coming season will be low because of the very dry weather the state has had this year. A quarantine, added to a disappointing crop report, would be an additional hardship for growers.
When the USDA withdrew funding for the canker eradication program earlier in 2006, the announcement was made that a new Citrus Heath Response Plan would be developed. Rather than covering only canker, the CHRP will address a myriad of diseases and other problems that affect citrus.
"New regulations, such as enclosing newly constructed citrus nurseries, will be included in CHRP," said Ms. Compton. "It will be a living document in that it will be amended to accommodate variables as new issues and problems arise. It will include decontamination protocol, best-management practices, insecticide and fertilizer applications, and much more."
The USDA and Plant Health Inspection Service released a draft of CHRP in March that established minimum standards to safeguard citrus production and nursery stock from citrus canker, greening and other diseases. Ms. Compton said that it would likely be some time before a final draft is issued.
