{"id":327,"date":"2014-04-18T10:27:40","date_gmt":"2014-04-18T14:27:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.floridacitrus.org\/newsroom\/?post_type=fdoc-news-item&p=327"},"modified":"2014-04-18T10:27:40","modified_gmt":"2014-04-18T14:27:40","slug":"fdocs-ackerman-florida-citrus-industry-girds-for-a-pretty-tight-squeeze-2","status":"publish","type":"fdoc-news-item","link":"https:\/\/www.floridacitrus.org\/grower\/fr\/fdoc-news-item\/fdocs-ackerman-florida-citrus-industry-girds-for-a-pretty-tight-squeeze-2\/","title":{"rendered":"FDOC\u2019s Ackerman: \u201cFlorida Citrus industry girds for a pretty tight squeeze\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"

A version of this column originally appeared in Growing Produce<\/a>.\u00a0Doug Ackerman served as FDOC executive director from 2011 through July 2015.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I am a proud veteran of the U.S. Army<\/a>, but my inspiration for this column comes from a story in which the Navy plays a prominent role. That should give you some insight into how important I think this story is.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The headline is inspired by the legendary World War II aviator, Lt. Colonel James H. Doolittle<\/a>, who famously told his band of volunteers as they prepared for departure on a daredevil mission, \u201cIt\u2019s going to be a pretty tight squeeze\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As the No. 1 fan of Florida citrus, I perk up any time I hear the word \u201csqueeze,\u201d because, along with words like \u201cplant\u201d and \u201cgrow\u201d and \u201cpick\u201d and \u201csell\u201d and \u201cdrink,\u201d it is one of the verbs that defines our industry. But Doolittle\u2019s vision has even more relevance for our industry than his invocation of one of our favorite words.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In spring 1942, as the nation reeled from the tragedy of Pearl Harbor, Doolittle was tasked with leading a daring raid on Tokyo, utilizing B-25s \u2014 medium-range bombers designed for the Army\u2019s ground-to-ground missions. Doolittle\u2019s mission, however, would require his team of courageous airmen to launch their attacks from the deck of the Hornet, a U.S. Navy carrier.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He trained his team, \u201cDoolittle\u2019s Raiders<\/a>,\u201d right here in Florida, at Eglin Field.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In order to enable the Raiders\u2019 heavy, powerful aircraft to take off from such an ocean runway, Doolittle directed that everything non-essential be stripped away from the aircraft. He knew the planes would need more than 1,000 pounds of fuel and 2,000 pounds of bombs for the mission; any excess weight was an impediment to getting airborne from the Hornet\u2019s short runways.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And, in one of the more dramatic moments of a war filled with them, at the last minute, the mission was forced to launch from a distance almost twice as far from the target as originally planned. Thus, every pound of fuel was even more precious. There were no \u201ccreature comforts\u201d on those stripped-down bombers as they commenced their journeys toward Tokyo on April 18, 1942 \u2014 the original \u201ctight squeeze.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Epic Struggle<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Today, the Florida citrus industry is engaged in its own epic struggle. We were surprised not by enemy bombers, but also by another sort of destruction that arrived via airborne transmission.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Like our nation in 1942, we are down, but we are not out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As surely as Doolittle and his men knew that success was the only option, the Florida Department of Citrus, mirroring the resolve of growers across our great state, plans on winning this fight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To get where we need to go, we \u2014 like Doolittle\u2019s Raiders and the very industry we serve \u2014 must remain focused on essentials.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the months to come, you will see continued evidence we are stripping away everything that isn\u2019t mission-critical as we add fuel and firepower. Put another way: Programs that made sense when we were selling 240 million boxes may not make sense now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The rest of Doolittle\u2019s quote is perfect for our time. \u201cIt\u2019s going to be a pretty tight squeeze,\u201d he said, \u201cBut it\u2019s all been worked out the best possible way.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Plans For The Long Haul<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Our priorities are clear. We know where we have to get, and we are loading up for the long haul \u2014 and for victory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the months ahead, I look forward to sharing details of the steps we are taking at the direction of the Florida Citrus Commission to be the best possible stewards of our industry\u2019s legacy and to add the next exciting chapter.
Among the changes you\u2019ll notice are:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n\t
  • A realignment of our agency partnerships, to ensure we are utilizing those important resources efficiently and maximizing their impact;<\/li>\n\t
  • Shifting additional resources into the Department\u2019s own public relations programs;<\/li>\n\t
  • Re-energized partnerships in the retail and foodservice space;<\/li>\n\t
  • New staff members in key industry-facing positions; and<\/li>\n\t
  • A refocused digital footprint.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

    We have a long way to go, but we have the pilots and the planes to get there.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    A version of this column originally appeared in Growing Produce.\u00a0Doug Ackerman served as FDOC executive director from 2011 through July 2015. I am a proud veteran of the U.S. Army, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"template":"","fdoc_news_item_category":[80],"fdoc_citrus_type":[110,107],"fdoc_health_category":[],"class_list":["post-327","fdoc-news-item","type-fdoc-news-item","status-publish","hentry","fdoc_news_item_category-fdoc","fdoc_citrus_type-grapefruit","fdoc_citrus_type-orange"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.floridacitrus.org\/grower\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/fdoc-news-item\/327","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.floridacitrus.org\/grower\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/fdoc-news-item"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.floridacitrus.org\/grower\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/fdoc-news-item"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.floridacitrus.org\/grower\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=327"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"fdoc_news_item_category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.floridacitrus.org\/grower\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/fdoc_news_item_category?post=327"},{"taxonomy":"fdoc_citrus_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.floridacitrus.org\/grower\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/fdoc_citrus_type?post=327"},{"taxonomy":"fdoc_health_category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.floridacitrus.org\/grower\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/fdoc_health_category?post=327"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}