Opinion: Remembering A Friend To Florida Grower

Frank GilesI’ve been fortunate to cover a lot of crops in my career writing about agriculture. But, when I accepted the job with Florida Grower in 2007, citrus was totally new to me. You might say I didn’t know my Swingle from Shinola.
Only a couple weeks into this job, I was off to Ft. Pierce to meet with our partners of Indian River Citrus Seminar (now the Florida Citrus Show) to plan for the upcoming show. Like any newbie, I was nervous about being the novice in a room full of experts.
During the planning, I happened to sit next to Stan Carter. We hit it off right away, enjoying each other’s sense of humor. He was not one of those folks who shunned outsiders. I could tell right away that he was the kind of person I could feel comfortable asking the proverbial “stupid questions” that are inevitable when learning about a new crop. He told me back in cabless tractor days why people put cane poles on the front of the tractor — to cut down the spider webs in the grove in the morning. Don’t know why but that little tidbit of information sticks with me to this day.
I was so impressed with my first meeting of Stan, I was convinced he would make a fantastic cover story for the magazine. Again, I was a newbie and it hadn’t occurred to me that others would have already discovered what a treasure trove of information and good spirit he was. In fact, I didn’t even know at the time that Stan had won our own Citrus Achievement Award in 2002.

Lifetime Of Leadership

E. Stan Carter
April 13, 1939-Dec. 18, 2013

Even though the magazine had covered Stan in the past, I was convinced the readers would benefit from reading about him again. So, in September 2007, Stan Carter was the first cover story I wrote for Florida Grower. That struck off a friendship and a mentorship that helped me learn a lot about growing citrus in Florida.
Every time I spoke to him, he had a kind word about magazine or even a mild critique when he felt like we were a missing story that needed telling. And, he was a tremendous partner in our Florida Citrus Show. He was an integral part of the planning for the Show and was very proud of its service to the industry.
Months ago, we planned the February issue of Florida Grower would feature the important challenge of water in Florida. It is only fitting we pay tribute to Stan here as well. He was instrumental in developing the agricultural BMPs for the Indian River area, which were the first of its kind in the state. Today, BMPs are protecting water resources on half of the agricultural lands in the state and about 90% of the irrigated land is enrolled in the program. Stan left us with a real legacy of protecting one of Florida’s most revered resources.

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The battle over water will continue for years to come and Stan’s calming voice will be missed. I think these sage words from Stan in his cover story should guide us in the future: “Farmers and urban citizens are going to have to learn more and do more about conserving water.”
I also was impressed by Stan’s faith that the citrus industry would prevail in the battle against HLB. I recall his excitement when we began to see growers becoming more confident and planting trees despite HLB. He had faith because he knew what the men and women of the industry are made of — the same strong will, hard-working, stick-to-it-ness that he was.
Stan will be missed, but his contributions to the Florida citrus industry, this magazine, his church, and his family and friends will be cherished for years to come. Rest in peace old friend.

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