Some Ventura County lemon growers, that were already impacted by unprofitable returns for their fruit, now face the added cost of a regulatory quarantine because of Huanglongbing, the citrus disease that is sweeping across southern California. Though all detections were in residential trees, the five-mile quarantine zone stretches into commercial citrus, encompassing farms and two citrus packing sheds.
The quarantine rules set in place a series of mitigation measures aimed at slowing the spread of HLB. Those measures aren’t without additional costs. Casey Creamer, president of California Citrus Mutual, says quarantine rules will add costly procedures to growers within the zone. Those protocols include several steps to prevent movement of ACP insects. For growers within the zone shipping to a packing shed also within the quarantine zone, one mitigation step must be completed.
One grower who farms within the Ventura County quarantine, but ships to a processor outside the quarantine, said this will add up to $700 per acre in harvest costs. The industry is currently working with state officials on the best mitigation steps to protect the state’s multi-billion citrus industry, Creamer said.
Source: farmprogress.com