Citrus Will Get $4 Mil. for Research

Florida citrus growers received almost all of their $5 million request for research funds to combat citrus canker and greening. But $13 million to the Florida Department of Citrus for advertising was denied. The final 2007-08 state budget the Legislature worked up late Monday night includes $4 million for canker and greening research, the industry's top legislative priority this year, said Mike Sparks, the chief executive of Lakeland-based Florida Citrus Mutual, the state's largest growers' representative.