Not all of the groves we’ve lost became shopping centers or housing developments. Many blocks of trees are still out there covered in moss or vines and still producing flush and a limited amount of fruit.
We’ve all seen these groves driving around production regions whether up North, on the Ridge, or in Southwest Florida. They resemble citrus ghost towns.
In order to maintain the greenbelt classification, some owners of these properties put up a fence, move in a few head of cattle, and call the operation farming. The problem is that the psyllid continues to snack on new flush on the remaining trees while spreading HLB. The situation is particularly frustrating for good steward growers located next to abandoned groves who are doing everything they can to protect their trees. These havens of HLB bacteria and psyllids undermine their efforts.
A Growing Problem
The USDA estimates there are 130,000 acres of abandoned groves in Florida. An abandoned grove is defined by the Florida Department of Agriculture as:
- No harvesting in two years
No production care during past two years
Grove use transferred for other production (livestock, pine trees)
Un-pruned or weather-damaged trees that are not economically feasible to maintain.
The industry has struggled with the complicated issue of how to get rid of these trees for almost a decade. The good news is that a legislative solution is on the way. A measure to ramp up FDACS’ initiative to rid Florida of abandoned citrus groves is moving through the Florida Legislature.
The Senate version is being championed by Sen. Bill Galvano (R-Bradenton) while the House version, which passed right at presstime, was introduced by Rep. Jake Raburn (R-Plant City). Each proposal is an amendment to the FDACS 2016 legislative packet. To ensure passage, Galvano is working with Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam and Senate Agriculture Committee Chair Bill Montford.
I commend Commissioner Putnam and Sen. Galvano for their leadership on this tough issue. Sen. Denise Grimsley also has done yeoman’s work by adding a provision to the amendment that if a grower pushes their grove due to disease their land remains classified as agriculture for five years.
The primary objective of the program is to provide a cost share for abandoned grove owners to remove trees while maintaining the agriculture classification for a set period. This is the carrot to get those trees to stop being snack time for psyllids. Florida Citrus Mutual remains optimistic the measure will pass with a significant amount of funding for tree removal.
Still Wood To Chop
As I write this, the specifics of the program are fluid. There are literally dozens of unique scenarios possible, but regulations should be clarified during the legislative process and in rule-making. One thing is for sure, our industry is going to have to work closely with each county’s property appraiser and property owners to get this done. And I can tell you this, the cattle scenario mentioned earlier is not going to fly anymore.
FDACS has a deep database of abandoned groves across the state. So once the amendment becomes law, we can hit the ground running. We expect to prioritize high risk abandoned groves and go after those first. With 130,000 acres out there, the industry needs to be as efficient as possible with whatever amount of funding that comes out of Tallahassee.
To view the amendment, known as the Grove Removal or Vector Elimination (GROVE) Program, go to https://www.flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2016/1010/?Tab=Amendments.
Please do not hesitate to contact me with any questions or concerns.