Q’s and A’s About

Citrus Canker Tree

Replacement

Q. How will growers whose groves were

destroyed because of citrus canker be 

compensated?

A. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA)

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS)

published an interim rule October 16, 2000, under

which eligible owners of commercial citrus groves in

Florida may receive payments to replace commercial

citrus trees removed because of citrus canker. The

payment of these funds is being made to reduce the

economic effect of the citrus canker quarantine on

affected commercial growers.

Q. Who is eligible to receive funds for tree

replacement?

A. The owner of a commercial citrus grove may be

eligible to receive funds to replace citrus trees

destroyed because of citrus canker if the trees were

removed pursuant to a public order after September

28, 1995. The current citrus canker infestation in

Florida was detected on this date.

APHIS’ interim rule also provides tree replacement funds for trees destroyed because of citrus

canker between 1986 and 1990. The State of Florida

has identified five commercial citrus groves in

Manatee and Highlands Counties that were affected

by citrus canker during this previous outbreak of the

disease. Until now, however, no provision had been

made for the payment of tree replacement funds or

other compensation to the owners of those five

groves.

Q. What qualifies as a commercial citrus grove?

A. A commercial citrus grove is any establishment

maintained for the primary purpose of producing citrus fruit for commercial sale. This definition is intended to distinguish commercial citrus groves from

“dooryard” or residential citrus trees, which have also

been destroyed to control citrus canker during the

current outbreak.

Although the Florida Department of Agriculture

and Consumer Services’ (FDACS) Division of Plant

Industry defines a commercial citrus grove as “a solid

set planting of 40 or more citrus trees,” APHIS’ definition of the term omits the 40-tree threshold in recognition of the possibility that there may be some small

groves of fewer than 40 trees that were, prior to being

destroyed because of citrus canker, maintained for

commercial purposes. If, during the processing of an

application for tree replacement funds, a question

arises as to whether or not a small grove was maintained for commercial purposes, APHIS will ask the

grove owner to produce documentation to support the

claim that his or her grove was maintained for commercial purposes. Supporting documents that APHIS

will accept are records of production expenses

incurred, records of income derived from direct sales

to consumers or from the consignment of harvested

fruit to a packer or juicing operation, and tax records

showing losses or gains in income resulting from the

production and sale of fruit.

Q. What about homeowners whose trees were

destroyed because of citrus canker?

A. Losses of residential citrus trees are covered

under the State of Florida’s canopy replacement program, in which homeowners who lose citrus trees

from their yards are eligible for a $100 voucher that

can be used to buy noncitrus trees, bushes, shrubs,

or other garden items.

Q. Where did USDA get the authority and funding

to offer tree replacement to commercial growers?

A. The funding for the tree replacement will initially

come from two sources. The Consolidated

Appropriations Act for Fiscal Year 2000 directs the

Secretary of Agriculture to use not more than $9 million of Commodity Credit Corporation funds for a

cooperative program with the State of Florida to

replace commercial trees removed to control citrus

canker before either December 31,1999, or the date

crop insurance was made available with respect to

citrus canker, if that date precedes December 31,

1999.

Claims resulting from the destruction of trees

after December 31, 1999, or after crop insurance was

made available will be paid with a portion of funding

from the Agricultural Risk Protection Act of 2000.

This Act stipulates that $25 million must be used by

the Secretary to compensate commercial growers for

losses due to plum pox, Pierce’s disease, and citrus

canker.

Q. How much money will eligible growers

receive?

A. Eligible growers, who complete the application

process and are approved, will receive a payment of

$26 per tree up to a maximum of between $2,704

Factsheet

Plant Protection and Quarantine October 2000

APHIS
and $4,004 per acre, depending on the variety of

trees removed. The per-acre caps were calculated by

multiplying $26 by the varietal average number of

trees per acre reported by the Florida citrus industry.

Per-acre payments for each variety of citrus are listed

below.

Q. How was the $26 replacement cost for commercial citrus trees determined?

A. The $26 payment per tree is the standard used by

the Florida Fruit Tree Pilot Crop Insurance Program,

which includes coverage for the loss of commercial

trees due to citrus canker. The figure was calculated

by USDA’s Risk Management Agency (RMA). In calculating the figure, RMA considered the costs of land

preparation, the replacement tree, labor for planting,

and maintenance until the tree becomes productive.

This amount is applicable for all varieties of citrus

trees for which crop insurance coverage is offered:

grapefruit, lemon, lime, orange, and “all other citrus”

(tangerine, tangelo, temple orange, and murcott).

Information gathered by APHIS from industry sources

confirms the cost of replanting commercial citrus

trees.

Q. Will the available tree replacement funding be

enough to compensate all eligible growers? 

A. Yes. According to the data provided to APHIS by

the State of Florida, approximately 484,900 commercial citrus trees were removed to control citrus canker

by July 19, 2000. Another 238,900 trees were

destroyed by September 30, 2000. At $26 per tree,

the cost of replacing those 723,800 trees would be

approximately $18.8 million; however, APHIS expects

the actual cost to be lower because of the per-acre

cap on tree replacement payments.

The State of Florida has also identified another

87,731 trees that were destroyed because of citrus

canker between 1986 and 1990. The costs of replacing those trees at $26 per tree would be approximately $2.28 million. But again, APHIS expects the actual

amount to be lower based on the per-acre cap for tree

replacement set forth in the interim rule.

Q. Why did USDA put a per-acre cap on tree

replacement payments?

A. This is necessary because some growers, in

recent years, have shifted to higher density planting of

smaller trees. This raises the number of trees per

acre that have to be destroyed to control citrus

canker. More traditional growers, however, have

maintained lower density groves with larger trees.

APHIS anticipates that additional funds will be

made available for USDA to provide payments to the

owners of commercial citrus groves for losses in production due to the destruction of trees to combat citrus canker. Because output per acre is approximately

the same, regardless of the number of trees per acre,

capping the tree replacement payments for each variety on a per-acre basis will ensure that no grower

receives combined payments (i.e., tree replacement

and lost production) that exceed the total estimated

per-acre loss in value of the destroyed groves.

Q. Why is USDA waiting to compensate growers

for production losses?

A. In anticipation that funding will be made available

in the Department’s FY 2001 appropriation, APHIS is

in the process of developing a plan for compensating

growers for production losses. The regulations needed to implement a lost production payment program

will be contained in a proposed rule to be published in

the future. Compensating growers for production losses is more complicated than determining the cost of

tree replacement, and APHIS believes the public

would be best served by having the opportunity to

comment on any proposed plan. In the meantime,

however, APHIS felt it was important to offer growers

some relief as quickly as possible. That is why the

agency made the decision to offer funds for tree

replacement even though a plan for compensating

growers for production losses is still being developed.

Q. How do growers apply for commercial tree

replacement? 

A. The form necessary to apply for tree replacement

funds may be obtained from any local citrus canker

program office or from the USDA Citrus Canker

Eradication Project office in Miami, FL. Completed

claim forms must be sent to USDA’s Citrus Canker

Eradication Project Office in Winter Haven, FL. This

office also contains FDACS Division of Plant Industry

records necessary to validate claims. When an application is submitted, it should be accompanied by a

copy of the public order that directed the destruction

of the trees, the order’s accompanying inventory that

describes the number and variety of trees removed,

and documentation verifying that the destruction of

Citrus Variety Average Number of

Trees Per Acre

Maximum Payment

Per Acre

Grapefruit, red seedless 104 $2,704

Orange, Valencia 123 $3,198

Orange, early/

midseaon/navel 118 $3,068

Tangelo 114 $2,964

Lime 154 $4,004

Other or mixed citrus 104 $2,704
trees has been completed, as well as the date of

destruction. Claims for trees destroyed on or before

the effective date of APHIS’ interim rule must be

received within 60 days after the effective date of the

rule. Claims for trees destroyed after the effective

date of the rule must be received within 60 days after

the destruction of the trees.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits discrimination

in all its programs and activities on the basis of race, color, national

origin, sex, religion, age, disability, political beliefs, sexual orientation, or marital or family status. (Not all prohibited bases apply to

all programs.) Persons with disabilities who require alternative

means for communication of program information (Braille, large

print, audiotape, etc.) should contact USDA’s TARGET Center at

(202) 720–2600 (voice and TDD).

To file a complaint of discrimination, write USDA, Director, Office of

Civil Rights, Room 326–W, Whitten Building, 1400 Independence

Avenue, SW, Washington, DC 20250–9410 or call (202) 720–5964

(voice and TDD). USDA is an equal opportunity provider and

employer.

United States Department of Agriculture • Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service • Safeguarding American Agriculture