At the risk of sounding clich\u00e9 about the general feeling that\u2019s electrified the Florida citrus industry lately, I have to say, there\u2019s no \u201cI\u201d in team. In fact, here lately, we\u2019ve all been putting to action the \u201cus\u201d in Florida Citrus. What I mean by that is, there\u2019s not one facet of our industry that hasn\u2019t been all hands on deck to make amazing things happen ahead of the harvest season. And these things will have beneficial ripple effects for years to come.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
These past few months we\u2019ve seen a lot come to fruition\u2014 things we\u2019ve been working on for years. And I use the term \u201cwe\u201d very literally here. The FCC along with the FDOC have been working tirelessly with our partners at Florida Citrus Mutual<\/a>, the Florida Citrus Processors Association<\/a>, the Citrus Research and Field Trial<\/a> Foundation, the Citrus Research and Development Foundation<\/a>, the New Varieties Development and Management Corporation<\/a>, FDACS<\/a> and more (I could keep going) to bring about the changes we saw in recent months.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When it comes to citrus greening, all of us have felt its weight. All of us have been impacted. And, all of us have done some heavy lifting to fight back. While the fight to overcome HLB is far from over, we\u2019re each committed for the long term, not only to survive but thrive\u2014 to replant and rebuild. Now is the time to look ahead, take action and plant trees that will bring a more bountiful harvest in years to come.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I encourage you\u2014 as a grower or any contributor or allied partner to the industry\u2014 to be engaged and do your part. Become involved, stay informed, exchange information and seek ways to further collaborate\u2014 because working together will continue to create our success.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you weren\u2019t able to join our telephonic FCC Meeting yesterday, we\u2019ve covered some more important ground in a short time. I want to thank all the folks who are willing to volunteer their time outside of their day jobs and tireless work in the groves to be present on important committees or boards. Your active involvement will continue to help the Florida citrus industry recover and thrive. Les Dunson is going to be the new chairman of the Processing Statistics Reporting Advisory Committee and Bill Bohde is being appointed to the CRDF board of directors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n