1984 - Agriculture

Agriculture

U.S. agriculture remains in distress as world markets shrink, partly because the dollar is so high. Costly federal farm programs come under fire.

Florida orders citrus growers in September not to harvest fruit even from fields certified by state agents to be free of citrus canker. Florida has some 800,000 acres of commercial citrus groves, the bulk of its orange and grapefruit crop will not be ripe for picking until January, it can safely remain on the trees for months thereafter, but the highly contagious plant disease threatens the state's entire $2.5 billion citrus industry.