Opinion: Citrus Research Trust Fund Making Progress
August 30, 2012 
In July, the Senate Finance Committee approved a bill to establish a National Citrus Research Trust Fund dedicated to supporting citrus pest and disease research. The research funding would come from a portion of the tariff on imported orange juice. If imports are high, the amount could total $30 million a year to fight not only HLB but canker, tristeza, and black spot, as well as several citrus diseases that haven’t been found in Florida … yet.
The Senate Finance Committee’s action was great news, but there’s still a lot more work to be done. The bill now goes to the full Senate and then onto the House. It then must be signed by President Obama. We are optimistic, even in an election year, that we can get this thing done during the lame duck session before the end of 2012.
Florida Citrus Mutual has been pushing this initiative for two years. We have spent a lot of time and effort walking the halls of Congress and letting lawmakers know how important this legislation is to the future of Florida’s citrus industry and the many jobs it supports.
Law Of The Land
Turning a bill into a law is not an easy process. The phrase “what is it going to take, an act of Congress?” is around for a reason. U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson of Florida has been the Florida citrus industry’s champion on this legislation. I cannot express how much help he has given us. Having grown up on the East Coast of Florida, Nelson, who sits on the Senate Finance Committee, understands the economic engine citrus provides to the Sunshine State. We thank him for going to bat for the Florida citrus grower and know he will be successful in ushering the measure through the Senate.
The citrus trust fund follows a model established by the wool trust fund created by Congress more than decade ago. The citrus trust fund would be overseen by a board of nine stakeholders from three citrus producing states. The Boards’ composition would be weighted to correspond with state production volumes, which would give Florida a majority of the Board seats.
The money, which currently goes to the general treasury, would be primarily used for research and development on HLB. However, the industry is well aware of offshore threats from other non-native diseases such as citrus variegated chlorosis, sudden death, and leprosis. I am sure some of the funding would be directed at researching these diseases. As a sentinel state with more than a dozen ports, the chance more pests and diseases will reach Florida’s shores is high. We must prepare. Funding from the trust found would help us get there.
Worthy Investment
Although the effort to create the Trust Fund has not yet been successful, Sen. Nelson did secure $11 million in federal USDA research dollars over the next four years. The money will go a long way to reduce both marketing and research tax assessments on growers.
The $11 million is not a promise or appropriations request, the funds have been dedicated. In fact, the Citrus Research and Development Foundation (CRDF) has already received $2 million. The balance ($9 million) will be directed by a grower stakeholder committee where Florida has four of the seven board seats.
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