(03/10/25) VIOLET, La. — In 2023, Anna Timmerman, a horticulture agent for St. Bernard and Plaquemines Parish, had to think swiftly to deal with a salt wedge that was rising up the Mississippi River. There were concerns about this causing issues for nursery irrigation systems, Timmerman was particularly worried about how the saltwater would affect one segment of her clientele: Plaquemines Parish citrus producers.

“I had to learn very quickly — what to do and what to recommend in terms of salinity, not just with citrus, but with other crops and with the cattle down there too because we don't have wells. Our water table is saline too,” Timmerman said of the potential disruption. “But I guess that's the beauty of the job. You get something new all the time.”

Because of her knowledge and interest in the crop, Timmerman has been named the new citrus point of contact for the LSU AgCenter. Along with her duties as a horticulture agent in the Greater New Orleans area, she now works with citrus producers to improve the production and efficiency of citrus groves in Louisiana.

Originally from Michigan, Timmerman was first introduced to citrus as she worked as a landscape contractor in Louisiana. As she researched tropical plants that can live in the state, she found herself interested in citrus as a crop that could produce a lot when it is healthy and taken care of.

She received her master’s degree from LSU in the School of Plant, Environmental and Soil Sciences before joining the AgCenter nine years ago. Because of her research for her master’s, Timmerman went into her work as a horticulture agent with a lot of knowledge about citrus and was frequently asked about how to best take care of those plants.

But citrus in Louisiana can be tricky. There are a couple of diseases that can cause severe damage to citrus crops: citrus greening and citrus canker. On top of this, hurricanes that frequently hit Louisiana and a yearly freeze risk can make having large-scale production of citrus difficult.

This is why Timmerman has recently been doing research into precision citrus agriculture. She conducts her research at Docville Farm in Violet in St. Bernard Parish, where she grows a variety of different citrus cultivars using a controlled environment system to grow the healthiest trees possible.

Inside a quarter-acre screenhouse, Timmerman has put in almost 300 container-grown trees and is able to alter the number of resources that is put into each plant. Through her research, she is developing management practices that will allow her to limit the amount of time it takes for a farmer to break even on a citrus orchard.

“In terms of labor efficiency, resource efficiency and producing a high volume of high-quality, fresh fruit in a small space, it seems really promising and cost effective,” Timmerman said of her research. “You're actually at the break-even point by year three, where in a traditional orchard that's really more like year seven or eight, because the trees are producing much earlier and much heavier in these systems.”

While her research develops, Timmerman has also worked to find more farmers willing to become citrus producers. She currently has about 40 farmers she frequently speaks with, but she is working to increase that number, especially with new and beginning farmers as well as veteran farmers.

Timmerman believes that with the amount of support that New Orleans gives local growers, if the producers start to grow citrus fruit, the market will be there.

“We have 34 farmers markets in the area now too. And fresh fruit is consistently what pulls market visitors — that's what they want to see,” Timmerman said. “So, there's a lot of market share, an opportunity for new producers. If they can keep their trees healthy and productive using new growing technologies, then they have ready markets.”

A ripening citrus tree at Anna Timmerman’s screenhouse at Docville Farm in Violet, Louisiana. Photo by Anna Timmerman/LSU AgCenter

The screenhouse at Docville Farm, where Anna Timmerman does much of her research into precision agriculture. Photo by Anthony Bailey/LSU AgCenter

Timmerman holding a satsuma grown at the Docville Farm screenhouse. Photo by Anthony Bailey/LSU AgCenter