LSU AgCenter outlines citrus recovery plan for Plaquemines Parish farmers

Anna Timberman, the LSU AgCenter ANR agent serving Plaquemines and St. Bernard parishes, told the council on June 11 she is coordinating replanting and grant efforts to revive the parish's citrus industry.

"We are down to... about 6,000 to 7,000 mature trees in the parish currently," Timberman said, summarizing the post-freeze state of the local citrus crop and the new focus on replanting and resilience.

Timberman said the extension office is pursuing state and federal grants and working with the University of Florida and other Southern extension services to trial cold-tolerant and disease-resistant cultivars. She noted three hybrid cultivars currently in her nursery'Arctic Frost, Orange Frost and Bumper'that survived recent cold weather and are being used for budwood and grafting demonstrations.

The office has also applied for an LDAF Specialty Crop Block Grant to fund protective reusable tree covers (screen bags) intended to shelter young trees during their first three years. Timberman said she expected the tree-assistance payout to be increased to about $113 per tree (up from roughly $14 previously), reflecting current input costs and making replanting more economical for growers.

Timberman closed by describing local training workshops, mapping of existing groves in Google Earth to target future funding, and coordination with USDA and soil-and-water conservation boards to monitor citrus pests and release biological controls where appropriate.

What happens next: Timberman said field trials and grant applications are underway; growers can seek technical assistance from the LSU AgCenter and the extension office offered help with pending Sprout NOLA and other equipment grants.