$30 Million to Combat Citrus Disease Announced by Secretary Vilsack
Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack announced that $30 million has been set aside to help citrus producers fight Huanglongbing (HLB)––otherwise known as “citrus greening”––a disease that threatens U.S. citrus production. The money will go toward research (funded by the Specialty Crop Research Initiative Citrus Disease Research and Education program) and projects that might lead to long-term solutions (funded by the HLB Multiagency Coordination Group).
"Our HLB Multi-Agency Coordination Group has worked closely with the citrus industry to select and fund projects that we think will make a real difference for growers against HLB," says Vilsack. "Funding these projects through cooperative agreements puts us one step closer to putting real tools to fight this disease into the hands of citrus growers."