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Citrus department's leader to step down

This is the second loss this year of a high-ranking executive in the department.

ORLANDO - The head of the Florida Department of Citrus resigned Wednesday, marking the second executive representing the crisis-stricken industry to step down in three months.

Dan Gunter had been head of the Citrus Department for nearly two years, his second stint as executive director after serving from 1986 to 1992. As executive director, Gunter was responsible for marketing Florida citrus, and credited with helping stop sliding orange juice sales while popular low-carb diets discouraged consuming it.

"I wish we could have kept him longer. There's more work to do, but he's done a tremendous job for us. He's made a difference," Florida Citrus Commission chairman Andy Taylor said.

Gunter said he took the job expecting a short term, and always planned to return to the private sector. "I had some very specific goals, some very specific reasons for being here. We've made a lot of progress on those goals, and it's a good time for me to step out and turn this over to somebody else," he said.

Gunter's exit April 16 is the second this year for a $9-billion industry struggling to stay viable. In January, Andy LaVigne stepped down as executive vice president and chief executive officer of Florida Citrus Mutual after heading the industry group since 1998.

The shakeups come at a turning point as Florida battles foreign competition, hurricane-damaged crops, diseases like citrus canker and greening, and skyrocketing real estate prices squeezing the market for undeveloped land.

Florida abandoned its decade-long effort to eradicate citrus canker in January after the federal government determined hurricane winds spread the bacterium too far to contain it. State and federal officials, researchers and growers are working on an alternative plan to manage the disease through increased decontamination, education and citrus nursery restrictions.

Jay Clark, a Hardee County citrus grower and cattleman serving as interim head of Florida Citrus Mutual, said the vacancies wouldn't hurt the industry's chance to right itself.

"With challenges come opportunities. I think we can move forward, and we don't see it as a problem," he said. "We'd like to think both organizations have good staffs in place."

Clark said LaVigne's replacement was expected to be hired this summer.

[Last modified March 16, 2006, 02:00:27]