USDA is extending voting in Florida’s fresh-citrus marketing-order referendum through Dec. 1, 2026, giving eligible producers more time to decide whether the order should continue. The original deadline was Nov. 9. Ballots must show proof of delivery to USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on Dec. 1 to count.
The amendment, filed Nov. 3 and dated for publication in the Nov. 4 Federal Register, changes the closing date for voting that began Oct. 19. USDA said industry organizations requested additional time because Florida citrus producers face significant production, recovery and business challenges.
Who qualifies and how ballots count
Eligibility is limited to current Florida citrus producers within the order’s production area who produced oranges, grapefruit, tangerines or pummelos for the fresh market between Aug. 1, 2025, and July 31, 2026. This is a Florida producer referendum, not a vote for California citrus growers.
Producers may deliver ballots by U.S. mail or electronically. The deadline is a proof-of-delivery requirement, rather than simply a date for sending a ballot. USDA will continue mailing ballots to eligible voters who request them during the extended voting period.
Growers who already submitted a ballot do not need to vote again or take any other action, USDA said. Ballots and voting instructions are being sent by mail or email to Florida citrus producers of record and may also be obtained from the referendum agents.
What the referendum decides
The vote concerns continuation of Marketing Order No. 905, which regulates handling of the four covered Florida fresh-citrus crops. USDA must conduct a continuance referendum every six years.
USDA would consider terminating the order if support falls below two-thirds on both measures: producers voting and citrus volume represented in the vote. The result is not the agency’s only consideration. USDA also weighs other relevant information about the order’s operation and its benefits and costs to producers, handlers and consumers.
