Sunshine State Saga – Part III, The 2000s to Today

Despite its ongoing battles with citrus greening, the state still reaches a significant milestone in 2013, celebrating 500 years of agriculture. To commemorate its rich heritage, Commissioner of Agriculture Putnam launches a year-long series of events at universities and colleges across the state. The year also marks a milestone for Port Miami, as the port brings in its first shipments of fresh fruit from Peru and Uruguay due to a new pest prevention pilot program.

A partnership between the U.S. Customs and Border Protection, USDA, and Florida Perishables Coalition, ‘cold treatment’ quarantines incoming fruit in refrigerated storage to eradicate harmful pests.

Three Florida crops experience extraordinary surges in production value for the 2013 season, up from the previous year: tomatoes (a whopping $456 million vs. $268 million); watermelon ($194 million vs. $138 million); and strawberries ($267 million vs. $210 million). Three other crops enjoy climbing sales as well: snap beans ($178 million vs. $167 million); cabbage ($62 million vs. $51 million); cucumbers ($76 million vs. $67 million).

Two crop values fall for the season: sweet corn ($166 million vs. the previous year’s $180 million) and bell peppers ($204 million vs. $207 million).

By 2014 when Putnam is reelected as Commissioner of Agriculture, the state’s blueberry program is thriving.

Growers are harvesting nearly 25 million pounds of berries throughout the state and the Florida Blueberry Growers Association continues to expand with hundreds of members, including growers, processors, distributors, and other businesses.

The Port of Jacksonville’s cold treatment pilot is a success; the program is expanded to include several more varieties of fruit from both Peru and Uruguay.

The Port also begins another dredging project in 2014 to deepen the St. Johns River channel to 47 feet, to accommodate the latest Supermax vessels.

Mid-2010s
Retailers Expand
For the 2014-15 growing season, orange production plummets to 96 million boxes and grapefruit production dwindles to just under 13 million boxes, primarily due to citrus greening.

The Oriental fruit fly (Bactrocera dorsalis) is found in South Florida.

The find prompts the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences to work with growers and community members to fight off the invasion by quarantining a 99-mile strip of Miami-Dade County that includes the highly productive Redlands region.

In May 2015, the Florida Senate and House pass a proclamation renaming the Pompano farmers’ market after Edward L. Myrick, a longtime wholesaler.