Four California congressmen recently asked U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Thomas Vilsack to have the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) buy $100 million worth of California navels. The orange purchase would help alleviate the impacts of storms.
The letter from Congressmen Jim Costa, David Valadao, Doug LaMalfa and Josh Harder follows: "We write in support of the Section 32 request submitted by California’s citrus growers for a USDA purchase of high-quality USDA Grade #2 California navels to alleviate some of the market impacts of historic storms earlier this year. From January through May 2023, periods of heavy rainfall caused by multiple atmospheric rivers in California resulted in floods that affected parts of Southern California, the California Central Coast and Northern California. As a result of the storms, California’s citrus groves were greatly impacted by increased damage from citrus thrips."
Read the full article on citrusindustry.net.