Florida citrus growers are urged to report damage from Hurricane Irma by September 21st.
A Citrus Industry article shared that Florida Citrus Mutual is calling on Florida citrus growers to report damage from the storm in order to help with the work between the association and with state and federal officials on a financial assistance program. The information is needed by September 21st. See details below.
Reporting Hurricane Damage to Florida Citrus
Executive vice president/CEO, Mike Sparks, said, “We have been in constant communication with the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS), as well as the Florida Department of Citrus (FDOC), the Florida Agriculture Coalition and the regional citrus groups since the hurricane.” He added that senators and congressman, “Rubio, Nelson and Ross each pledged their strong support to help us rebuild after this disaster.”
Sparks explained that, “In addition to a financial assistance program (crop loss), Mutual is pursuing various planting incentive programs at the state and federal level, which we recognize as our highest priority to get citrus trees back in the ground. A key component to the proposed legislative ask(s), is specific damage information from growers. I cannot emphasize enough how important it is to capture this data firsthand.”
Growers are asked to answer the questions below and email to floridacitrusmutual@yahoo.com by Thursday, September 21st.
1) What county(s) and how many acres do you manage?
2) Estimate total fruit loss as a percentage.
3) Estimate the acute wind damage to trees as a percentage.
4) Estimate acres in standing water as total acres and as a percentage.
Florida citrus growers are also urged to let other citrus growers know about the call for damage reports.
Griffin Fertilizer is committed to helping both growers and ranchers make sound agronomic and economic decisions in order to maximize the health of their grove and pasture. As a full-service custom dry & liquid fertilizer blender and crop protection product distributor, we will continue our mission to further advance Florida agriculture. For questions or concerns about your farm or pasture, contact us and one of our team will be in touch.