MARION COUNTY, Fla. — Florida’s citrus industry has been shrinking for a while.
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Now, the department dedicated to managing it is getting a big cut.
Commissioners have agreed to cut the Florida Department of Citrus’s budget by almost $130,000.
Read: New Year shows no growth in crop size as Citrus farmers continue to battle disease
It comes after production fell by nearly a million boxes.
It’s one of the lowest outputs in about 100 years.
Despite the cut, industry leaders hope growers will begin expanding again.
“Because of some of the new therapies that are being deployed, the tree health is looking really good,” said Matt Joyner, president of Florida Citrus Mutual. “We have one of the most consistent blooms that we have seen in a lot of years.”
See: Fresh-squeezed: Florida citrus-themed mural unveiled at the Florida Welcome Center
Overall, the citrus department will still receive a robust package that includes $9 million for marketing, $2 million for recovery efforts, and $23 million to combat tree-greening, which the industry has struggled with for decades.
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