LAKE WALES, Fla. (AP) – Ellis Hunt’s family has made a living growing citrus since the 1920s, when his grandfather went into the business with two brothers. The industry is all they know.

Today, the third-generation farmer wonders how long he can maintain his company’s share of Florida’s $9 billion industry after one of the worst growing seasons in recent memory.

“My personal goal is to have our 100th year anniversary in 2022, so I guess I’ve got to make it 16 more years,” Hunt said. “We’re trying to stay in the business unless we’re forced out.”

Four hurricanes that struck or brushed Florida in 2005 not only caused an estimated $2.2 billion in damage to the state’s crops and farming infrastructure, they are believed to have spread citrus canker that threatens the state’s signature citrus crops.

The federal government said last month that the fight against canker was hopeless and yanked its funding for current eradication efforts. The disease makes fruit blemish and prompts it to drop prematurely, making it harder to sell.

Now Hunt and other growers are in limbo until state lawmakers and agriculture officials formulate a new plan to battle canker. The Legislature begins a two-month session March 7.

Lawmakers and regulators also will seek ways to curb other diseases such as greening and tristeza, and prepare for the possibility that more devastating hurricanes will slash through groves this year.

Besides repealing a law requiring the destruction of citrus trees within a 1,900-foot radius of one infected with canker, it’s unclear what legislators will devise for growers.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture is working with scientists to design a new canker management plan, with a draft expected by the beginning of March, state Agriculture Department spokeswoman Liz Compton said.

Better decontamination of grove equipment and more thorough inspection are under consideration. So are multiple applications of a copper spray already used to control fungal diseases, and natural windbreaks to help prevent canker spread.

Democratic state Sen. Rod Smith, chairman of the Senate Agriculture Committee, said hurricane relief and response would top the panel’s agenda. He said there would likely be tax relief for growers, particularly for fuels for heavy equipment and machinery.

Democratic state Rep. Dwight Stansel, vice chair of the House Agriculture Committee, said he was disappointed Gov. Jeb Bush didn’t mention growers’ needs in the same breath as tourism, a commercial spaceport and education when he unveiled his budget recommendations earlier this month.

Bush spokesman Russell Schweiss defended the governor’s proposal, saying it included $381 million for agriculture – up nearly 18 percent from $324 million a year before.

The Florida Nursery, Growers and Landscape Association will push lawmakers for bridge loans to help growers rebuild hurricane damage, said Ben Bolusky, the group’s executive vice president. Bridge loans typically max out at $25,000 and last up to a year and a half.

Bolusky also said the industry would pursue sales tax exemptions on items such as fuel and incentives for water-conserving irrigation systems.

Meanwhile, growers like Hunt wait and hope for relief.

Workers trying to rid the state of canker left the charred remains of about 15 grapefruit trees in the middle of one of Hunt’s groves, among one perfect row after another of still-maturing fruit. Without the change in the eradication policy, all of those trees would be gone.

“If you’re in farming, you have to be optimistic,” Hunt said. “It’s hard to say what the industry is going to look like in 5 to 10 years, but there will be an industry of some kind.”

AP-ES-02-20-06 0414EST