Florida citrus growers could use some good news. After an early citrus forecast predicted a 26 percent drop in the 2016-17 harvest year over the 2016-16 season’s 81.5 million boxes, the industry needs some good news. The announcement that a much-talked about planting program for Florida citrus growers has finally come to be is exactly what the industry needs to hear.

Renovation/Re-establishment for Citrus Growers

Citrus greening has hit the groves of Florida’s citrus growers hard. The new initiative is aimed at helping grove owners to re-establish their groves by shouldering some of the cost of improvements to the groves themselves.

Called the Citrus Grove Renovation/Re-establishment Support Program, it offers $5.5 million in funding to citrus growers to replant or re-establish their citrus groves. The program is split with $3 million in funding going to groves located in the Northern Everglades region (NEEPA) and $2.5 million for the rest of Florida. The program is supported by the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS).

Program Details

The Citrus Grove Renovation/Re-establishment Support Program will provide 75 percent cost-share on eligible improvements in irrigation and nutrient management and 100 percent on engineering and design costs. Additionally, growers are also eligible for up to $250,000 for improvements to irrigation and nutrient management for replanting or re-establishing groves.

There are a number of requirements that citrus growers must meet in order to be eligible for the program. For instance, a producer must have been in the citrus production business since at least 2008, their proposed project must be a least 10 acres and the producer must be enrolled in the OAWP Citrus BMP program, just to name a few. Find program details and application information here.

The Florida citrus industry must replant millions of trees if it is to stay afloat in the face of citrus greening, and this program was created to achieve those planting goals.

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.