See the latest updated on the Florida Citrus Recovery Block Grant, a program for Florida citrus growers to receive aid due to Hurricane Irma damage.

Hurricane Irma did a lot of damage to Florida Citrus in 2017, prompting the U.S. Department of Agriculture Farm Service Agency (FSA), the Florida Department of Emergency Management (FDEM), and Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS) to develop the Florida Citrus Recovery Block Grant to offer “financial assistance to aid in the recovery of damages suffered during Hurricane Irma.” A Citrus Industry article shared updates to the program, including new meeting dates to assist Florida citrus growers with the application process. See the details below.

Updates on the Florida Citrus Recovery Block Grant

To date, according to the article, the Florida Citrus Recovery Block Grant program has:

  • Received 718 applications
  • Submitted more than $23.6 million to financial processing

New Meetings

Jared Davis, a FDEM Project Consultant, will be hosting more meetings that are aimed at helping Florida citrus growers with the grant’s application process. New meeting dates, per the article, include:

  • March 14, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Indian River Citrus League/Farm Service Agency office, Fort Pierce
  • March 15, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Florida Citrus Mutual headquarters, Bartow
  • April 18, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Highlands County Citrus Growers Association office, Sebring
  • April 19, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Florida Citrus Mutual headquarters, Bartow

Florida citrus growers interested in making an appointment during one of the above dates should call the Block Grant Hotline at 863-800-0342.

More information on the grant can be found on this FloridaDisaster.org release.

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