DATE: February 20, 2024
TO: Board of Supervisors
SUBMITTED BY: Melissa Cregan, Agricultural Commissioner/Sealer of Weights and Measures
SUBJECT: Amended Revenue Agreement for Asian Citrus Psyllid Detection Trapping Agreement
RECOMMENDED ACTION(S):
TITLE
Approve and authorize the Chairman to execute First Amendment to the Asian Citrus Psyllid Detection Trapping Agreement with the California Department of Food and Agriculture, effective upon execution with no change to the term of October 1, 2023, through September 30, 2024, and increasing the maximum by $101,540 to a total of $636,967.
REPORT
There is no additional Net County Cost associated with the recommended action, which will increase the maximum amount of the Asian Citrus Psyllid Detection Trapping Agreement (Agreement) with the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) from $535,427 to $636,967, which will support ongoing program operations. This item is countywide.
ALTERNATIVE ACTION(S):
If your Board does not approve the recommended action, the Department will not receive additional funding from the CDFA for Asian Citrus Psyllid (ACP) detection trapping activities.
FISCAL IMPACT:
There is no increase in Net County Cost associated with the recommended action, which will increase the Agreement with CDFA by $101,540, to a total of $636,967 in the FY 2023-24 Department of Agriculture Org 4010 Adopted Budget.
DISCUSSION:
The Asian Citrus Psyllid (ACP) is one of the most serious pests of citrus known in the world. This insect pest is a vector for the bacterium Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus (CLas) that causes the citrus disease known as huanglongbing (HLB) or citrus greening. Citrus trees infected with HLB will die and there is currently no treatment for the disease. In Florida, HLB has spread to all 32 citrus growing counties across the state. As a result, Florida citrus production has dropped dramatically from what it was 20 years ago, resulting in the closure of citrus packing houses and the loss of thousands of jobs. The Florida Department of Citrus recently reported that citrus production in Florida could drop over 80 percent by 2026.
The first detection of ACP in California occurred in 2008 near San Diego along the international border with Mexico. Despite eradication efforts, ACP quickly spread through southern California counties. In 2012, HLB was confirmed to be infecting a lemon tree in the Hacienda Heights area of Los Angeles County. HLB infected host plants, including citrus, and/or ACP found to be positive with the CLas bacterium, have been detected in Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, and Ventura counties. The CDFA established statewide quarantines for both ACP and HLB. Due to the latency period between infection of trees with HLB and the detection of HLB within those trees, the risk for further spread is high.
Citrus production counties throughout California, under agreement with the CDFA, conduct trapping activities to detect ACP in urban/residential areas. The first detection of ACP in Fresno County occurred in 2011. There have been multiple detections of ACP in Fresno County since 2011, with two detections in 2023. Rapid detection of ACP when an infestation is small is critical to successfully eradicating the pest. Eradication efforts of the CDFA have resulted in eradication of all ACP infestations within Fresno County.
Historically, CDFA staff conduct year around ACP trapping in commercial citrus groves while County Agricultural Commissioner (CAC) staff trap commercial citrus groves to detect the Glassy-Winged Sharpshooter (GWSS), a vector of Peirce’s Disease, which is deadly to grapevines. GWSS traps and ACP traps are the same type of trap and GWSS traps are screened for the presence of ACP. GWSS traps are removed from commercial citrus groves at the end of November and not deployed again until March of the next year. CDFA determined it would be more efficient to have CAC staff convert GWSS traps to ACP traps from December thru February and remove themselves from ACP trapping in commercial citrus groves altogether.
On June 6, 2023, your Board authorized the Agricultural Commissioner/Sealer of Weights and Measures (Ag Commissioner) to approve and execute specific revenue agreements with CDFA for FY 2023-24, and to amend the same agreements for any potential increase or decrease of an amount not exceeding the greater of 15% of the maximum, or $10,000.
On August 9, 2023, the Ag Commissioner executed Agreement No. D-23-687 with CDFA.
The funding in the original Agreement was $535,427, and an additional $101,540 in funds was made available by the CDFA to the Department to conduct ACP trapping activities in commercial citrus groves from December 2023 thru February 2024 of the following year. Because the increase to the Agreement is greater than $10,000 or 15% of the original Agreement amount, and exceeds the delegated authority of the Ag Commissioner, staff is bringing this Agreement amendment to your Board for consideration.
REFERENCE MATERIAL:
BAI #25, June 6, 2023
ATTACHMENTS INCLUDED AND/OR ON FILE:
On file with Clerk - Amendment to Agreement
CAO ANALYST:
Ahla Yang