Rep. Vern Buchanan introduces bill to aid citrus growers in fighting greening

WASHINGTON -- Rep. Vern Buchanan, R-Sarasota, announced the introduction of bipartisan legislation Friday to aid Florida citrus growers affected by citrus greening, a deadly bacterial disease that is crippling one of the state's most iconic industries.

"This common sense legislation makes it less costly for citrus farmers to replant crops decimated by disease," said Buchanan, noting that greening has already spread to all 32 citrus-growing counties across the state. "I'm especially pleased that a dozen of my colleagues from Florida joined me to help protect the livelihoods of the 76,000 Floridians directly and indirectly employed by the citrus industry."

The Emergency Citrus Disease Response Act (H.R. 3957) would provide tax incentives for farmers who cannot afford to replace trees affected by citrus greening. Under current law, growers are allowed an immediate deduction for the cost of replanting diseased trees, but the farmer must bear the full cost.

Buchanan's proposal would allow struggling farmers to use this deduction even if they bring in investors to raise capital for replanting costs, as long as the grower continues to own a major stake in the grove. It also extends this incentive to purchasers of land with diseased trees.

Dean Mixon, president of Mixon Fruit Farms Inc., said he is "very pleased and proud" of Buchanan's work, noting that "in order to survive, the Florida citrus industry needs to make a serious investment to replant nearly 300,000 acres of citrus that has been lost to invasive pest and disease."

Gary Bradshaw, president of SMR Farms, noted that many resources are being used to fight the threat to Florida's signature crop.

"Greening is one of the toughest battles the citrus industry has faced," Bradshaw said.

Michael Sparks, executive vice president and CEO of Florida Citrus Mutual, said "as our production continues to drop, the Florida citrus industry is in a crisis situation.

"To counter the losses and revitalize the state's signature industry, growers need to put more than 20 million trees into the ground over the next decade. The tax measure put forth by Congressman Buchanan will go a long way to getting us there," Sparks said.

While greening does not harm humans or animals, it results in bitter, hard, misshapen fruit and eventually causes the trees to die. There is currently no cure for this disease, and infected trees must be destroyed. Citrus greening has had a devastating impact on Florida's economy over the past eight seasons and resulted in the loss of 7,513 full- and part-time jobs, according to a recent report from the Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences at the University of Florida.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates citrus provides Florida's economy approximately $9 billion a year.

This story was originally published November 6, 2015 at 6:02 PM with the headline "Rep. Vern Buchanan introduces bill to aid citrus growers in fighting greening ."