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In the Grove & On the Record with Ray Bassett
Ray Bassett, General Manager of Ellingson Groves, Inc. and President of Aglime Sales, Inc.
Just a few years out of college, Bassett’s father-in-law asked the young CPA to join the family citrus business sparking a love for the industry and a longtime career.
What is your job title and description?
General Manager – Secretary/Treasurer
Can you give me some background on the company you work for?
The company is Ellingson Groves, Inc. It was incorporated in 1960, however the underlying assets are groves planted by the Carson family of Frostproof. They were the first permanent residents of Frostproof.
Have you always been in citrus or have you worked in other industries?
I was an accounting major at the University of Florida. I spent two years in the Army as a result of the ROTC program at UF. Upon discharge from the Army, I was employed by Bunting, Tripp & Ingley, a CPA firm for about six years until my father-in-law asked me to work with him in the citrus business. Unfortunately, my father-in-law passed away soon after I began work. With his estate and a financer, WH Stuart of Bartow, we incorporated as Holland Groves, Inc. which I operated for about six years until Mr. Stuart asked me to move to a company being formed to produce and sell agricultural lime products named Dolome Minerals Company. This employment lasted for about twenty-five years until there was a change in ownership and I resigned. During this period my wife passed away and I married Karen Ellingson Walker, heir to the Carson groves, and I began managing her groves along with some I had acquired and I started a new agricultural lime company called Aglime Sales, Inc.
Where are you from?
I was born in Bartow and attended schools there.
Is your family in the citrus industry?
My grandparents were farmers in Hardee County. My father was in the newspaper business.
Who or what were the key influences in your life related to your involvement in the citrus industry?
My father-in-law, Arthur Holland, got me started with my love for citrus.
What is your first memory in or related to the groves?
My father-in-law scolding me for working too hard because I wanted to know how to do the work and what I could expect from an employee.
What do you find the most challenging about being in the Florida citrus industry?
Probably the most challenging thing in the citrus industry is proper marketing and fighting new diseases and pests brought to us from foreign sources.
What should people who aren’t in agriculture know about citrus and farming in general?
People who are not in agriculture should know how much education, hard work, attention to details and dedication it takes to be successful in a farming operation.
How has citrus farming changed since you’ve been in the industry?
When I started in citrus, trees were widely spaced and groves were disked and chopped both ways. Major problems were rust mites, scale, melanose and greasy spot. During dry periods groves were irrigated with galvanized or aluminum pipe moved by hand from middle to middle. Groves were “laid by” during the summer and cover crops were encouraged to grow. Fruit was harvested in 90 pound wooden boxes that were loaded by hand onto a truck in the grove, then hauled to a larger truck, transferred and stacked by hand. Fruit was packed in wire-bound wooden crates for shipment to consumers.
What do you think will change about the Florida citrus industry in the next five years?
Changes to come – a few more packinghouses will close because of the intense competition with imported fruit of all kinds and a solution to greening will be developed with a parasite or bacterial way to control the psyllid.
If you weren’t in citrus, what would you be doing instead?
If I were not in citrus I probably would be in agricultural lime sales as I am now.
What’s the toughest challenge you’ve faced – either work or personal?
The toughest challenge I have faced is leaving a company I had been with for twenty years and starting a new company from scratch.
What practices is your company currently implementing in the fight against citrus greening?
In our greening fight, we scout for infected trees, put out a dormant spray and a systemic spray with the spring flush.
Why do you believe it is important to be a member of Florida Citrus Mutual?
Without Florida Citrus Mutual, growers would only have individual voices to be heard on a local and national level. With Mutual many voices joined together gets a lot more attention. Mutual is money well spent.
What can Mutual do better?
I really don’t have any suggestions for improvement. They just need to continue the aggressive representation on the state and federal levels, particularly the federal level.
