For the first time, under authority of Section 32 of the Agricultural Adjustment Act Amendment of 1935, the U.S. Department of Agriculture will purchase up to $20 million of fresh mandarins and tangerines for distribution to food banks, schools and other non-conventional markets. USDA also announced that it will purchase up to $20 million in oranges and $10 million in …

The California Avocado Commission will host a grower field day at Pine Tree Ranch in Santa Paula on January 25, 2023 from 9:30 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. During the event, California avocado growers will have an opportunity to meet CAC’s new president, Jeff Oberman. In addition, Tim Spann of Spann Ag Research & Consulting and Ben Faber, UC Farm Advisor, …

California Citrus Mutual (CCM) and the Citrus Research Board (CRB) welcome more than $1 million in new federal funding for critical research programs that support the U.S. and California citrus industries. The 2023 Appropriations bill passed by Congress recently includes continued funding to help stop the deadly citrus plant disease Huanglonging (HLB) that has devastated citrus production in Florida and …

USDA-NIFA’s Emergency Citrus Disease Research & Extension (ECDRE) program brings the nation’s top scientists together with citrus industry representatives to find scientifically sound solutions that combat and prevent citrus greening (HLB)​ at the farm-level. For the first time in the program’s history, NIFA is supporting an HLB-focused Coordination Network (CN) Project led by an interdisciplinary team of scientists representing all three major citrus producing …

Upon the recommendation of the Citrus Research Board (Board), the California Department of Food and Agriculture (Department) has established an assessment rate to be levied on California citrus producers during the 2022-2023 marketing season, which is the period of October 1, 2022 through September 30, 2023. The assessment rate for the 2022-2023 marketing season has been set at three and …

The California Citrus Mutual Marketing Committee (Committee) – comprised of growers, shippers, and marketers – anticipates the 2022-23 Navel Orange crop will be approximately 10% over the previous season’s utilized production.  At below average, the upcoming season crop is expected to be very similar to the previous season with excellent fruit quality and sizing. Preliminary maturity tests show that the crop is …

In a season that has been difficult for many citrus growers, the family-owned grower-shipper Fruit World has announced several bright spots in their 2022-23 citrus season. In particular, Fruit World is expecting a large volume of high-quality organic lemons throughout their year-round program, with promotable volumes peaking from mid-October through February. This year’s crop is even stronger than it was …

To maximize profits in the early navel orange market, growers need to have large fruit size and sufficient yellow-orange color and a high enough sugar-acid ratio to meet or exceed the legal minimum harvesting standards. Growers of early-maturing navel oranges in Kern County use different strategies to produce these oranges. Some growers irrigate at full evapotranspiration rates nearly up to …

USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service, Pacific Regional Field Office recently completed the California Mandarin Objective Measurement Survey. A sample of 293 Tango and W. Murcott Afourer Mandarin varieties were randomly selected proportional to county and variety bearing acreage. Results show an average fruit set of 596 fruit per tree and an average fruit size of 1.344 inches in diameter for …

The initial 2022-23 California Navel orange forecast is 76.0 million cartons, up 19% from the previous year, according to the USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service’s Objective Measurement Report.  Of the total Navel orange forecast, 73.0 million cartons are estimated to be in the Central Valley. Cara Cara variety Navel orange production in the Central Valley is forecast at 8.0 million …