The Pacific Regional Office of the USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) conducts an acreage survey of California citrus growers as funding is available. The purpose of this survey is to provide bi-annual citrus acreage, which includes information on new plantings and removals. It is the continuation of a long series of industry-funded Citrus Acreage surveys. Users are cautioned that …

The initial 2020-21 Navel orange forecast is 84.0 million cartons, down 5 percent from the previous year. Of the total Navel orange forecast, 81.0 million cartons are estimated to be in the Central Valley. Cara Cara variety Navel orange production in the Central Valley is forecast at 7.0 million cartons. These forecasts are based on the results of the 2020-21 …

The California Prune harvest wrapped up on schedule this year and growers have worked through the challenges of wildfires and market disruptions caused by the pandemic to harvest premium quality fruit consisting of an optimum range of sizes,setting up excellent opportunities to market the sweet, larger prunes for which California is famous. With early industry projections of a short crop, …

U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue announced today that additional commodities are covered by the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program (CFAP) in response to public comments and data. Additionally, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is extending the deadline to apply for the program to September 11th, and producers with approved applications will receive their final payment. After reviewing over 1,700 …

An Asian citrus psyllid (ACP) sample – confirmed positive for Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus (CLas) the bacteria that causes Huanglongbing (HLB) – was collected from a commercial citrus grove in the Woodcrest area of Riverside County. Confirmed by Citrus Research Board’s Jerry Dimitman Laboratory, this single adult psyllid is the first CLas-positive ACP found in a commercial citrus grove in California. While a …

Growers of U.S. highbush blueberries generate more than $4.7 billion in annual economic impact, translating to more than $12.7 million flowing into the U.S. economy every day of the year. “The U.S. highbush blueberry industry – including 12,739 blueberry farms – is a powerful financial force,” said Kasey Cronquist, president of the U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council (USHBC). “Behind every farm …

California prune growers forced economically to make a 23% reduction in crop deliveries have also suffered a 28% reduction in price. This hardship comes in spite of a number of positive factors for the industry including $50 million in USDA purchases of prunes and positive results from trade mitigation offsets and industry promotion efforts in Japan and elsewhere. Growers reviewed …

On July 17th, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue and U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer announced the appointment of 25 new members to serve on seven agricultural trade advisory committees, including some of our friends in California. This will bring a greater voice and trade opportunities for specialty crop growers in California. The Agricultural Policy Advisory Committee is comprised of …

Researchers across the nation are struggling to end the scourge of citrus greening disease, also known as huanglongbing. The disease renders citrus fruit inedible and eventually kills entire orchards. In Florida alone, from 2012-2016 the disease caused production losses of $4.4 billion and eliminated about 7,900 jobs. With economic impact like that, it’s no wonder that previous citrus greening research …

UC Riverside scientists have found the first substance capable of controlling Citrus Greening Disease, which has devastated citrus farms in Florida and also threatens California. The new treatment effectively kills the bacterium causing the disease with a naturally occurring molecule found in wild citrus relatives. This molecule, an antimicrobial peptide, offers numerous advantages over the antibiotics currently used to treat the …