WINTER HAVEN — Although not hitting the jackpot in the relative scheme of things, Florida citrus had a good week in Tallahassee and Washington, D.C., to the tune of more than $84 million for vital programs.
More than $23 million of the total will come from the state in the 2017-18 budget compromise agreed to Wednesday in the Legislature, said Michael Sparks, CEO of Lakeland-based Florida Citrus Mutual, the growers’ trade group. Another pot of more than $61 million sits in the 2016-17 federal budget agreement reached in Congress earlier this week.
“We are so pleased with the appropriations for 2017 and that our most critical programs are being funded,” Sparks said Wednesday. “We had a very successful year, a very difficult year, and I’m so happy with how well the Florida citrus industry did and how our legislators went to bat for us.”
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