Working toward rapid, inexpensive, environmentally friendly cures for HLB/citrus greening
CRDF leader Rick Dantzler’s tally of the destruction of Florida citrus since 2009, as reported by Citrus Industry: 100,000 acres of Florida citrus groves have disappeared, from 451,100 to 351,057 acres. Orange production is destroyed, from 133,700,000 boxes to 51,700,000 boxes. Grapefruit production has practically
“In a recent statement, Rick Dantzler is, chief operating officer of the Citrus Research and Development Foundation (CRDF), didn’t really talk glowingly about CRDF’s accomplishments,” Citrus Industry reports. “Rather, he started off by telling how far the Florida citrus industry has declined since CRDF was
The Citrus Research and Development Foundation has started to respond to concerns that its favoritism toward Monsanto-Bayer has come at the expense of smaller enterprises with possible solutions to HLB. CRDF finally let representatives of three innovative companies speak at one of its meetings. Dantzler
The Florida leaders entrusted with saving the state’s endangered citrus groves discussed waging a government-funded campaign to convince growers, packers, processors, and customers to accept GMOs as real “oranges.” The proposal pushes for the official re-definition of “orange juice” to include juice from synthetic strains
Having poured most of its resources into expensive Monsanto-Bayer projects to fight citrus greening, the Citrus Research and Development Foundation plans to let Florida’s citrus groves die out and replace them with genetically engineered seeds from Bayer. That’s our reading of a series of statements
No back-room deals at the Citrus Research and Development Foundation while Rick Dantzler is in charge. At least that’s what Dantzler, a lawyer-politician veteran of Florida’s political back-room deals for years, told the CRDF board of directors at its April 28 meeting. Stung by intensifying
Fresh, pure Florida citrus will have become a GMO with added pork, if CRDF has its way. Faced with Monsanto-Bayer backing out of his GMO solution unless he comes up with more cash, Rick Dantzler of the Citrus Research & Development Foundation wants to sweeten
Genetic modification of citrus appears to be the top priority for Rick Dantzler and Florida’s Citrus Research and Development Foundation (CRDF), according to the discussion at today’s CRDF board meeting. Foundation COO Rick Dantzler says he’s committed to keeping the Monsanto-Bayer project alive, even though
The most costly project of the group created to save Florida citrus farmers has been a wasteful disaster. It produced nothing, wasted un-recoverable time, and allowed the HLB citrus greening disease to spread. Even worse, after three years and $12.3 million, the Citrus Research and
“We’re surrounded,” an Arizona Department of Agriculture official says about citrus greening. The disease, also called HLB, “has already decimated citrus groves in the other major citrus-producing states of Florida, California, and Texas,” the Arizona Republic reports. “Once you have it,” says Arizona citrus farmer