Florida’s Citrus growers are virtually at the point of desperation, as about fifty percent of the states citrus crop has been infected by the Huanglongbing (HLB) greening disease.
During a meeting in Lakeland, Florida with the United States Department Of Agriculture’s (USDA) answer to the citrus problem in Florida, the HLB Multi-Agency Coordination (MAC) system, Republican Congressman Tom Rooney and Dennis Ross, the problem was addressed, and citrus growers in attendance were given assurances that the federal government was going to step in and assist them in combating this disease.“Big Citrus” has alone spent $70 million in disease funding over the past several years
Growers were told that the $125 million dollars appropriated to research and combat this disease would be spent over the next five years, and the $20 million which was set aside for MAC in the recently signed 2014 Farm bill, would be used within one year.
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Rooney, who sits on an Appropriations sub-committee, told concerned growers that this industry was ” at a moment of truth,” and that his job was to see to it that “nobody messes” with this money appropriate to fight the citrus disease
Congressman Ross added that the meeting to fight this disease, that wasn’t just a Florida issue, but a national one, “was long overdue,” adding that the 76,000 jobs dependent on the citrus industry in Florida, were at risk.
If we lose our agricultural influence domestically, then we have lost, period.-Rep. Dennis Ross (R-FL)
The USDA has this posted on their website to describe the make-up and role of the HLB MAC Group:
Participating organizations include USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS),Agricultural Research Service (ARS), and National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA), as well as State departments of agriculture and industry groups. These partners are forming an HLB Multi-Agency Coordination (MAC) Group-or HLB MAC Group-to jointly collaborate on policy decisions, establish priorities, allocate critical resources, and collect, analyze, and disseminate information. The HLB MAC Group will help to coordinate and prioritize Federal research with industry’s efforts to complement and fill research gaps, reduce unnecessary duplication, speed progress, and more quickly provide practical tools for citrus growers to use.
