INDIAN RIVER COUNTY — The Indian River Soil and Water Conservation District Board of Supervisors has chosen Estes Citrus owner Cody Estes and manager Jim Hoffman as the 2011 Conservation Cooperator of the Year.
Estes Citrus is recognized as an example of leadership as a steward of the land. Estes Citrus has worked with the Soil and Water Conservation District and the USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service staff since 1981.
The company, under the management of Jim Hoffman for the past 15 years has implemented and followed a conservation plan including several practices to better utilize limited water resources and reduce energy use by irrigating within a recommended schedule.
Estes Citrus has worked aggressively to retrofit all water control systems in th groves by converting from screw gates to water control structures with flashboard risers.
They have invested in windbreaks to reduce potential movement of airborne pathogens from and into their groves.
Cody Estes has been a member of several boards, locally on the Agricultural Advisory Committee to the County Commission and on the Indian River Citrus League Board. He was appointed by the governor in 2003 to serve as Vice Chairman of the Florida Citrus Commission., and he currently serves as director of the Florida Orange Marketers and director of Ocean Spray Cranberries, Inc.
The Indian River Soil and Water Conservation District in cooperation with the USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service have assisted with the conservation efforts of Estes Citrus through their cost-share funding programs and technical assistance.
