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In the Grove & On the Record - Jimmy Davis

Jimmy Davis, Stitt Groves

After working for 25 years for U.S. Sugar and then owning his own business, Jimmy Davis jumped at the opportunity to go to work as Grove Manager for Stitt Groves in Clewiston. Now he’s going in the grove and on the record with Mutual.

What is your job title and description?
Grove Manager for Stitt Groves. I also help other growers with spraying, herbiciding and other things.

Can you give me some background on the company you work for?
The Stitts have been in business for more than 60 years growing cattle, citrus, sugar and and now leasing land to RJ Hatton Brothers for vegetables including broccoli, beans and corn in Florida. They also have agricultural land in Texas. The Stitts are a great family, great stewards of the land.

Have you always been in citrus or have you worked in other industries?
I started out in research at U.S. Sugar. I left and went to work for Glades County Sugar Growers for 7 years before going back to U.S. Sugar for 18 more years, first with the off-shore feeding program and then as Administrative Assistant to the VP of AES. After leaving U.S. Sugar I owned my own business for a while before selling it and going to work for Stitt Groves.

Where are you from?
I was born and raised in Clewiston.

Is your family in the citrus business?
My family has all been in agriculture – as long as I can remember. My grandparents came to Clewiston in 1920 from Lakeland and went to work for Southern Sugar until 1926. When the hurricanes of 1926 and 1928 wiped them out they went back to Lakeland. In 1931 they came back to Clewiston and went to work for U.S. Sugar and the family has been here ever since. My Grandpa worked for U.S. Sugar for 45 years, my Dad was there for 43 years and my brother still works there.

Who or what were the key influences in your life related to your involvement in the citrus industry?
I’ve always been interested in citrus because of my grandparents. When I sold my business and Mr. Stitt gave me the opportunity to go in to the groves I took the chance – although if I had known about canker and greening I might have stayed where I was!

What do you find most challenging about being in the Florida citrus industry?
Trying to keep costs down with spraying, fertilizing, herbiciding and everything else that goes in to it. Trying to keep a small farm affordable. I work with other growers a lot to help lower costs.

What do you think will change about the Florida citrus industry in the next five-ten years?
The “Silver Bullet” that kills the psyllid will be found. I think to find it though we all need to try different things to see what works and to help with the research process.

What practices is your company currently implementing in the fight against greening?
I’m familiar with the program that Maury Boyd is using and I say that we’re using the “Jimmy Davis-Boyd Program.” I’m using salicylic acid, peroxides and nutritionals and I’m seeing a lot of results. We’re also using aerial spray for the psyllids. I’m not saying what I’m doing is right or wrong, but the combination of what we’re doing is working for me.

Our groves are also part of a pilot program for the Datastar Citrus Analyst, which uses remotely sensed aerial imagery to provide information on tree counts, the measurement of tree stress, tree health trends and other information on a tree-to-tree basis. This is just a minute part of the fight against greening, but I just wish that growers would try it. If they don’t like it, don’t use it. I know a fellow grower that had people counting trees for three weeks, Datastar counts them in 10 minutes with a 100% accuracy and shows the stress.

Why do you believe it is important to be a Mutual member?
Information, information, information. I probably couldn’t live without Mutual. Just to be able to find the information you need and to have people to go to and talk to with problems or questions. I get a lot of information from Mutual that I wouldn’t know otherwise.