Florida Avocado Mafia Votes: Keep the Marketing Rules or Bust?
Published Date: 9/11/2026
Notice
Summary
Florida avocado growers will vote from September 21 to October 13, 2026, on whether to keep the current rules that help manage avocado sales in South Florida. Only growers who sold avocados between April 2025 and March 2026 can vote. This decision affects how avocados are marketed and could impact growers’ costs and sales strategies.
Analyzed Economic Effects
3 provisions identified: 1 benefits, 1 costs, 1 mixed.
Two-Thirds Threshold Could End Order
USDA will consider terminating the South Florida avocado marketing order if continuance is not favored by at least two-thirds of the producers voting in the referendum, or by at least two-thirds of the volume represented in the referendum. USDA will also consider other relevant information about the Order’s operation and the relative benefits and costs to growers, handlers, and consumers when deciding whether to continue the Order.
Referendum Dates, Eligibility, and Deadlines
If you are a Florida avocado grower who produced avocados for market during April 1, 2025 through March 31, 2026, you may vote in a continuance referendum held from September 21 through October 13, 2026. Ballots delivered to AMS by U.S. mail or electronic ballot must show proof of delivery by no later than 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on October 13, 2026 to be counted. Ballots and instructions will be sent to growers of record; participation is voluntary.
Six-Year Continuance Referendum Cycle
USDA must conduct a continuance referendum for this marketing order every six years under Sec. 915.64(d). The current ballot materials are OMB-approved (OMB No. 0581-0189), and USDA estimates an average of 20 minutes for each of about 200 South Florida avocado growers to cast a ballot.
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