Search results for "‘frustrated optimism’ outlook citrus industry "

Good growing conditions have Florida citrus growers looking forward to a strong crop this season with volume an estimated 3.4% greater than last year.

Citrus greening disease or huanglongbing — HLB for short — has taken a toll on Florida’s citrus sales, but hope remains that the industry will survive and even thrive.

Georgia peach grower Robert Dickey III and Florida vegetable grower Charles Obern have been named 2019 Farmers of the Year by Swisher Sweets/Sunbelt Expo.

Ocean Mist is bringing chef Christopher Vacca to the Produce Marketing Association’s Foodservice Conference & Expo to create Tuscan Style Braised Baby Artichokes to sample on the show floor.

Organic grower-shipper Wholesum, Amado, Ariz., has a new program to highlight its Fair Trade program for consumers and retailers.

Unity Groves Corp. has expanded its acreage and looked to improve groves by “grafting better varieties,” said Louie Carricarte, president and owner.

Mike Krage is the Idaho Potato Commission’s newest retail promotions director, covering the Northeast and Midwest.

Ocean Mist Farms, Castroville, Calif., is launching Reach for the Gold, its spring artichoke campaign.

The Canadian Produce Marketing Association expressed its approval for the federal government’s investments that benefit the fresh fruit and vegetable industry. 

California growers are expected to produce 80 million cartons of navel oranges during the 2018-19 season, according to estimates from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. That’s an 11% increase over last year.

Florida’s orange volume should be about 77 million 90-pound box equivalents, most of which will go to processing, said Andrew Meadows, director of communications for Lakeland-based Florida Citrus Mutual.

Volume should be up in most U.S. citrus-growing areas this season compared to last year, and despite challenges in some areas, growers say they’re shipping some good-quality fruit.

The University of Florida has developed a system designed to help growers know the best times to spray fungicides on their citrus trees in order to minimize a disease called postbloom fruit drop.

Projections for Florida citrus show a rebound is expected this season after Hurricane Irma devastated agriculture in the state last year.

Although this season got off to a slower start than last year, Chile expects to ship a record 101,000 tons of mandarins to North America this year, a 32% increase from 2017.

Catch up on companies that import and market easy peel citrus and more from Chile.

Chilean easy-peeler volume will almost double for Pacific Trellis Fruit in 2018, said Christopher DeSana, East Coast import manager and sales manager.

This will be the second season that Reedley, Calif.-based Dayka & Hackett will feature the Minion label for its Chilean easy peelers, said Tony Liberto, import citrus manager.

More summer Chilean clementine and mandarin volume is on tap for U.S. consumers this year.