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Scott Wants Agency To Address Growers' Concerns

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TALLAHASSEE (NSF) – Gov. Rick Scott has sided with a group of growers in asking the Florida Department of Citrus to squeeze its operations as the industry struggles with the impact of citrus disease.

Scott made list of requests this week for the citrus department, with the issues including how the agency handles $7.6 million the Legislature allocated in next year's budget for marketing programs.

First on Scott's list, spelled out in a letter initially reported by The Ledger newspaper, is to address the concerns of growers who asked in February to downsize the department and to reduce a tax on growers that funds the agency. The industry has been hammered in recent years by a disease known as citrus greening.

"I ask that the commission review the department's programmatic and budgetary needs to identify a level of tax relief for the industry, recognizing that it may redefine the department's mission during this challenging time," Scott wrote.

The letter was addressed to the department, the nine members of the Florida Citrus Commission, which Scott appoints, and the growers --- including Ben Hill Griffin III of Frostproof-based Ben Hill Griffin Inc., David Duda of Duda & Sons in Oviedo, Bill Becker of Vero Beach-based Peace River Citrus Products and Bob Buker, CEO and president of U.S. Sugar Corp.

Scott also asked in the letter that the department use the "box" tax dollars imposed on growers before dipping into the legislative allocation and that any contracts tied to the state money be vetted through the governor's office.

"The department should also identify the metrics that will be used to measure success in the target markets and ensure that the taxpayers receive a positive return on this investment," Scott wrote.

Department of Citrus Executive Director Shannon Shepp said Friday that Scott's letter was "expected."

"We've had open discussions with his office throughout the process and we are comfortable with his expectations," Shepp said in a prepared statement. "Our industry is in crisis, and Gov. Scott is being supportive."

In March, the Citrus Commission advised staff to project revenue for operations based on the industry growing enough oranges to fill 54 million 90-pound boxes and enough grapefruit to fill 10 million similar-sized boxes.

The current forecast from the U.S. Department of Agriculture is that this year's Florida orange harvest will be enough to fill an estimated 71 million boxes, the worst for the industry in five decades. The grapefruit forecast stands at 10.7 million boxes.

The proposal by the growers included a request to reduce the agency's annual budget from about $29.9 million to just over $7 million. The request would trim staff from 43 to 10 and reduce public-relations efforts from $9 million to $2 million.

The growers also proposed reducing the box tax that growers pay on each box of oranges from 23 cents to 7 cents and on each box of grapefruit from 19 cents to 7 cents.

The Bartow-based Department of Citrus will hold a workshop April 27 on the budget.

Scott also recently called for economic reviews of the state's tourism and space-industry arms after asking Enterprise Florida to slash its budget.

The News Service of Florida's Jim Turner contributed to this report.

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