In This Issue:
- UF senior vice president Jimmy Cheek accepts UT chancellor post
- Florida citrus crop expected to decline 4% in 2008/2009
Florida Focus
UF senior vice president Jimmy Cheek accepts UT chancellor post
Jimmy Cheek, the University of Florida’s senior vice president for agriculture and natural resources, has been named the chancellor at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.
Cheek will begin his new duties Feb. 1, 2009.
Cheek, part of UF’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences for 33 years, says he’s enthusiastic about the move, but will miss the institution where he’s served for so long.
“It’s difficult to leave. I’ve worked with many fine people in Florida, from faculty and staff to agricultural producers and 4-H members, from students and alumni to legislators and stakeholders. It has been an honor to be part of IFAS and the University of Florida. I am proud of our many accomplishments in meeting the state’s agricultural and natural resource needs,” Cheek says.
Go here for the full story - http://news.ifas.ufl.edu/story.aspx?id=1308
Florida citrus crop expected to decline 4% in 2008-09
Florida’s orange crop will decrease by 2.5 percent this season. keeping crop levels close to previous years with consistent supplies of Florida orange juice available in the United States and overseas, according to a news release.
The 2008 crop estimate, released by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, indicates Florida will produce 166 million boxes of oranges, 23 million boxes of grapefruit and 4.9 million boxes of specialty fruit . This represents a 4 percent decline from actual production in the 2007-08 crop year.
Specialty citrus decreased 8.6 percent and grapefruit production is down 13.5 percent.
“Despite tremendous disease challenges, citrus production still contributes a $9.3 billion annual economic impact to the state of Florida,” says Ken Keck, executive director, Florida Department of Citrus in Lakeland. "We anticipate the availability of a consistent supply of fresh citrus and citrus juices to U.S. and international consumers this year."
“Current orange juice supplies mean that consumer prices should remain steady,” says Bob Norberg, deputy executive director of research and operations. “Prices are determined by a number of factors beyond the cost of raw materials and current economic conditions continue to fluctuate. For consumers, orange juice continues to be a tremendous value as one of the most naturally nutrient-rich beverages available.”
“The entire citrus industry is working collaboratively to battle citrus disease,” Keck says. “We are confident that research efforts led by the National Academy of Sciences and the Florida Citrus Production Research Advisory Council will yield innovative solutions.”
Citrus diseases, including canker and greening, can kill trees and affect production, but do not affect the safety of the food supply. FDOC has budgeted $20 million to support disease research in 2008-09.
“FDOC is balancing critical disease research funding with important marketing programs that have been proven to generate consumer demand for Florida citrus,” Keck says. “We want to help ensure the sustainability of the Florida citrus industry and its important contributions to Florida’s agriculture and economy.”
The USDA 2008 Florida crop estimate is available at: http://www.nass.usda.gov/Statistics_by_State/Florida/Publications/Citrus/cit/2008-09/cit1008.pdf
