For many years Florida Citrus has been the industry that can’t seem to catch a break. There have been many setbacks in our attempts to move beyond citrus greening and a host of other challenges thrown our way. Despite the challenges, we haven’t stopped innovating, collaborating, communicating and, really, just trying to get one step ahead.
This is a big week for us, and it deserves some celebration. With the CarraCea T1 rootstock regulatory approval we have new armor. There are decades of science, chance, patience, trust and financial investment that we can now decide how to apply in our own businesses. I call that a win.
To Matt Joyner, the Florida Citrus Mutual Board of Directors and the entire FCM team, thank you for the steady cadence and monumentally hard work to get this to growers. Our partnership matters and, though we don’t often say the quiet part out loud, the autonomy our ancestors built into our regulatory structure at the FDOC and the formation of a relentlessly advocating trade association in Florida Citrus Mutual to keep watch, we were built to succeed.
In the next few weeks, as our summer rains begin and next year’s crop sets, my challenge to all of you is to keep focused on this turning point and look for more wins coming our way.
Steve Johnson is Chairman of the Florida Citrus Commission, which oversees the Florida Department of Citrus. He is the owner and general manager of Johnson Harvesting, Inc., based in Wauchula, FL.