The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced proposed amendments to the Florida citrus marketing order. As recommended by the Florida Citrus Administrative Committee, changes would include reducing the size and quorum requirements of the committee and revising the nomination and selection processes of committee members. The requirement of allocating committee seats based on volume from each district would also be removed. Lastly, a new section would authorize the committee to receive and expend domestically sourced voluntary contributions and grant funds for promotion and research projects.
The committee seeks these changes to reflect industry consolidation and the decrease in crop production. Having a smaller committee size would enable the committee to fulfill membership and quorum requirements, thereby ensuring a more efficient and orderly flow of business. The authority to accept voluntary contributions would allow for more collaboration with other organizations for research/promotional activities. The committee locally administers the federal marketing order for Florida citrus under USDA’s oversight.
The proposed rule for this action was published in the Federal Register on June 30, 2022. Comments are due by August 29, 2022.
More information about the marketing order regulating the handling of citrus produced in Florida is available on the 905 Florida Citrus page on the Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) website.
Authorized by the Agricultural Marketing Agreement Act of 1937, marketing orders are industry-driven programs that help producers and handlers achieve marketing success by leveraging their own funds to design and execute programs that they would not be able to do individually. AMS provides oversight to 28 fruit, vegetable, and specialty crop marketing orders and agreements to ensure fiscal accountability and program integrity.
More information about federal marketing orders is available on the Marketing Orders and Agreements page of the AMS website or by contacting the Market Development Division at (202) 720-2491.
