Media Center :: Press Releases

January 5, 2009: I authored a letter to then Secretary of Agriculture Ed Shafer to alert his Department of the threat posed by the Laurel Wilt fungus to Florida’s 7,400-acre commercial avocado industry.

January 13, 2009: I hosted a meeting with the Department of Agriculture and local officials to discuss the urgent need for an immediate allocation of $320,000 in research funding to the University of Florida’s Tropical Research and Education Center in Homestead. Attending this meeting were Congressman Adam Putnam, Miami-Dade Agricultural Manager Charles La Pradd and other state and industry representatives.

January 21, 2009: Members of my Congressional staff participated in a USDA-led conference call with local growers and other federal experts to discuss various ways to manage and combat Laurel Wilt disease. As a follow-up, I requested that USDA keep me informed of its efforts to prevent the spread of this disease to our South Florida crops.

March 2009: I submitted a request for a Congressional appropriation of $1.3 million to address the Laurel Wilt disease. This request was made as part of my Fiscal Year 2010 Congressional Appropriations requests and would be directed to the University of Florida’s Tropical Research and Education Center. Supporting my request were Congressmen Mario Diaz-Balart and Adam Putnam.

April 2009: I co-signed a letter led by Congressman Adam Putnam to Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsak. The letter asked that the Department of Agriculture immediately restrict the transport of Redbay wood and plants that play host to the Redbay ambrosia beetle, the insect which carries Laurel Wilt disease. In addition, the letter requested that the Secretary used all the tools provided to the agency in the 2008 Farm Bill—specifically funding of up to $50 million for detection, diagnostics, and control strategies.

July 2009: I co-signed a letter to USDA Secretary Vilsak requesting that tree and crop insurance for avocados be expanded to include the Redbay ambrosia beetle/Laurel Wilt complex as a peril and include both crop and tree loss compensation options.

July 27, 2009: Received word from USDA of its decision to fully fund the University of Florida’s proposal titled: Laurel Wilt of Avocado:  Mitigation and Management of an Exotic, Insect-Vectored Disease. University of Florida scientists will receive $1.9 million in federal funding for this important research.