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Citrus Commission Slicing Spending

WFSU | By Jim Ash
Published June 22, 2017 at 2:11 PM EDT
The Florida Citrus Commission is recommending more budget cuts as the industry deals with a devastating disease.
The Florida Citrus Commission is recommending more budget cuts as the industry deals with a devastating disease.

Reflecting the industry’s sagging fortunes, the Florida Citrus Commission is recommending a 22 percent spending cut. 

The Florida Citrus Commission is recommending more budget cuts as the industry deals with a devastating disease.
The Florida Citrus Commission is recommending more budget cuts as the industry deals with a devastating disease.

The commission oversees the Department of Citrus, which is struggling with a devastating plant disease and legislative belt-tightening.

The proposed $17.5 million operating budget would eliminate $1.5 million in retail marketing and another $1.4 million for public relations.

However, the budget proposal would continue a $250,000 contract with Visit Florida to provide orange juice at welcome centers.

Citrus greening will shrink the orange harvest 14 percent this year to 70 million boxes, a shadow of the 230 million boxes harvested in 2000.

Copyright 2020 WFSU. To see more, visit WFSU.

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AgricultureFlorida Citrus CommissionCitrus GreeningLocal
Jim Ash
Jim Ash is a reporter at WFSU-FM. A Miami native, he is an award-winning journalist with more than 20 years of experience, most of it in print. He has been a member of the Florida Capital Press Corps since 1992.
See stories by Jim Ash
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