Longtime University Of Florida Citrus Economist Passes Away

Ron MuraroRon P. Muraro, professor of Food and Resource Economics Department at the UF/IFAS Citrus Research and Education Center, passed away on Sunday, Feb. 16, 2014, in Lakeland, FL. The faculty and staff of the Citrus Research and Education Center, as well as those who knew him at the University of Florida and the citrus industry, will remember Muraro for his gentle demeanor and dedication to the economics of citrus production and management.

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Muraro received his A.A. at Lake Sumter Junior College in 1966. He enrolled at the University of Florida soon after, received a B.S. in 1968 and then a Masters of Agriculture (M.Ag) in the Food and Resource Economics Department in 1969. After a brief stay of employment as a research economist and farm survey coordinator at the University, Muraro was hired as an Extension agent in Polk County. He served as the citrus Extension agent in Polk County for 10 years. In 1979, Muraro was appointed as assistant professor at the UF/IFAS Citrus Research and Education Center. He rose through the ranks, being tenured and promoted to associate professor in 1984 and later as professor in 1995. He served as professor until his retirement in 2013. He was granted status as emeritus professor soon afterward.

His major responsibility was developing and disseminating decision-making economic information for county Extension agents, citrus producers, and citrus businesses. Enterprise budgets he developed for the major citrus growing regions of Florida were among his greatest contributions. These annual budgets have been an invaluable resource for the local, regional, domestic and international citrus communities for many years. The budgets detailed the impact of unit operations on production costs. Such operations included average costs associated with pesticide and fertilizer applications, irrigation, tree removal and replacement, disease management, harvesting, and taxes and regulatory assessments. He was a valued co-investigator on many research projects, where his economic analyses of prophylactic and curative strategies informed the commercialization potential of resulting recommendations.

Muraro counted many career awards including the 2005 Florida Association of County Agents Outstanding Specialist Award, the UF/IFAS Food and Resource Economics Department 2005-2006 Extension Outreach Award, and the 2008 Florida Fruit & Vegetable Association Researcher of the Year Award. For 10 years, he served as a certified instructor with the Florida Real Estate Commission, where his “Citrus Seminar” for the Florida Association of Realtors outlined costs associated with purchasing and developing land for citrus production.

Source: Citrus Research and Education Center

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