Overview of Florida Agriculture

In 2008 Florida had 47,500 commercial farms, utilizing 9.25 million acres to continue to produce a variety of food products.

Florida ranked first in the United States in the value of production of oranges, grapefruit, tangerines, sugarcane for sugar and seed, squash, watermelons, sweet corn, fresh-market snap beans, fresh-market tomatoes, and fresh-market cucumbers.

Florida ranked second in the United States in the value of production of strawberries, bell peppers, and cucumbers for pickles.

Florida ranked fourth in the value of production of honey.

In 2008 Florida accounted for:
-- 71 percent of the total U.S. value of production for oranges ($1.5 billion)
-- 68 percent of the total U.S. value of production for grapefruit ($179 million)
-- 52 percent of the total U.S. value of production for snap beans ($172 million)
-- 51 percent of the total U.S. value of production for sugarcane for sugar and seed ($448 million as of 2007)
-- 44 percent of the total U.S. value of production for fresh-market tomatoes ($622 million)
-- 40 percent of the total U.S. value of production for bell peppers ($267 million)
-- 39 percent of the total U.S. value of production for cucumbers for the fresh market ($94 million)
-- 29 percent of the total U.S. value of production for watermelons ($140 million)
-- 27 percent of the total U.S. value of production for tangerines ($58 million)
-- 21 percent of the total U.S. value of production for sweet corn ($157 million)

Farms and Land in Farms

In 2008 Florida had 47,500 commercial farms, using a total of 9.25 million acres. There were 5,300 farms with sales exceeding $100,000. The average farm size was 195 acres. The number of farms in Florida has increased by 2,500 over the past 10 years.

Year	Total Number of Farms	Total Acres	Average Farm Size
2008	47,500	9,250,000	195 acres
2007	47,500	9,300,000	196 acres
2006	41,000	9,460,000	231 acres
2005	42,000	9,570,000	228 acres
2004	43,200	9,830,000	228 acres
2003	44,000	10,040,000	228 acres
2002	44,000	10,300,000	234.1 acres
2001	44,000	10,300,000	234.1 acres
2000	44,000	10,400,000	236.4 acres
1999	45,000	10,500,000	233.3 acres

Cash Receipts

In 2007 Florida ranked second in the nation in the value of vegetable production, with cash receipts of $1.6 billion. Florida ranked seventh in all crops with cash receipts of $6.2 billion, and 11th in total cash receipts. Florida ranked first in cash receipts for oranges, tangerines, grapefruit, and sugarcane.

Commodity	2004 Receipts	Percent of Total
All Commodities	$7,650,517,000	100.00
Citrus	$1,506,837,000	19.70
Other Fruits and Nuts	$432,567,000	5.65
Vegetables and Melons	$1,649,066,000	21.55
Field Crops	$613,301,000	8.02
Foliage and Floriculture	$914,556,000	11.95
Other Crops and Products	$1,071,571,000	14.01
Milk	$460,776,000	6.02
Cattle and Calves	$449,098,000	5.87
Poultry and Eggs	$370,555,000	4.85
Aquaculture	$58,106,000	0.76
Miscellaneous Livestock	$124,084,000	1.63

Horticulture

In 2007 Florida ranked second in the nation in the production of greenhouse and nursery products, with cash receipts totaling over $1.9 billion. In 2008 the wholesale value of Florida floriculture was over $900 million. Florida sales of cut greens during 2008 totaled about $71 million, while sales of hanging baskets and potted plants totaled over $480 million.

Vegetables, Melons and Berries

The 2007-2008 value of production for the seven major vegetable crops, potatoes, berries, and watermelons totaled $1,984,680,000, up 9 percent from 2006-2007. Sweet corn, bell peppers, squash, tomatoes, and blueberries showed increases in value from the previous season, while snap beans, cabbage, cucumbers, potatoes, and strawberries showed declines. Watermelons were virtually unchanged.

Harvested acreage of the seven major vegetable crops, potatoes, berries, and watermelons totaled 225,900 acres during the 2007-2008 crop season, up 3,300 acres or 1 percent from the 2006-2007 season.

Citrus

In 2007-2008 Florida accounted for 70 percent of total U.S. citrus production. California produced 27 percent of U.S. citrus, and Texas and Arizona produced the remaining 3 percent. U.S. citrus production for the 2007-2008 season totaled 13 million tons, up 24 percent from the previous season. In 2007-2008, production in all Florida commercial citrus areas was up, with production in the top four counties—Polk, Highlands, Hendry, and DeSoto—increasing by 33 percent.

Citrus Crop Year	Value
2007-2008	$1,211,939,000
2006-2007	$1,499,112,000
2005-2006	$1,024,610,000
2004-2005	$754,169,000
2003-2004	$891,500,000
2002-2003	$787,378,000
2001-2002	$966,803,000
2000-2001	$862,031,000
1999-2000	$1,108,523,000
1998-1999	$1,097,253,000

Forestry

Despite an increase in forest fragmentation due to urban sprawl and land-use conversion, timber remains a major part of Florida’s economy. In 2005 Florida timberlands totaled 15.6 million acres and supported more harvestable wood volume than at any other time in the previous 18 years. Growing stock volume (trees larger than 5 inches in diameter at breast height and of a commercially valuable species) increased from 619 to 686 million green tons between 1987 and 2005.

Field Crops

The 2008 value of production for hay, peanuts, cotton and cottonseed, corn, pecans, soybeans, and wheat in Florida totaled $283,292,000. Acreage harvested for field crops (excluding sugarcane) was up 3 percent in 2008 and totaled 592,000 acres. The value for the 2007 crop of sugarcane was $426,600,000, up slightly from $425,324,000 in 2006. Sugarcane cash receipts made up 72.6 percent of Florida’s cash receipts from field crops, and Florida ranked number one in the production of sugarcane nationwide.

Livestock

As of January 1, 2009, all cattle and calves, including dairy cattle, on Florida farms and ranches totaled 1.7 million head, down 10,000 from the previous year. Nationally, Florida ranked 10th in beef cows and 18th in total cattle. The average annual beef price of cattle marketed in Florida in 2008 was $70.70 per hundredweight, down from $76.40 per hundredweight in 2007. In 2008 Florida dairies produced 2.06 billion pounds of milk. That same year, the total value of Florida poultry production was $404 million, and the average market price for hogs was $39.40 per hundredweight.

Exports

In 2008 Florida ranked 17th in the United States in agricultural exports, with an estimated value of $2.17 billion. This figure is up by $224 million from the previous year.

Florida’s Top Five Agricultural Exports, estimated, in 2008:

Commodity Group	Export Value in Dollars	U.S. Ranking
Other*	$814,200,000	2
Fruits	$771,300,000	3
Vegetables	$214,200,000	5
Feeds and Fodders	$100,700,000	11
Live Animals/Meat	$56,500,000	24
* Other: sugar and tropical products, minor oilseeds, essential oils, beverages other than juice, nursery and greenhouse, wine, and miscellaneous vegetable products

Over 140 countries imported Florida agricultural commodities in 2008. The leading
importers were:

Canada	$591,777,000
Japan	$112,784,000
The Netherlands	$39,362,000
France	$36,566,000

Florida County Value of Agricultural Products Sold in 2007

County	Total
Palm Beach	$932 million
Miami-Dade	$661 million
Hillsborough	$488 million
Hendry	$567 million
Polk	$399 million
Highlands	$326 million
Manatee	$312 million
Collier	$279 million
Orange	$270 million
Hardee	$232 million
DeSoto	$220 million
Suwannee	$198 million
Lake	$189 million
Okeechobee	$178 million
Marion	$174 million
Martin	$159 million
St. Lucie	$144 million
Lafayette	$139 million
Indian River	$136 million
Volusia	$126 million
Lee	$116 million
Pasco	$111 million
Gadsden	$96 million
Alachua	$92 million
Osceola	$91 million
Glades	$85 million
Gilchrist	$77 million
Levy	$76 million
Jackson	$70 million
Charlotte	$66 million
St. Johns	$53 million
Broward	$50 million
Brevard	$47 million
Madison	$43 million
Putnam	$38 million
Hernando	$36 million
Flagler	$35 million
Escambia	$32 million
Sarasota	$31 million
Sumter	$29 million
Walton	$26 million
Holmes	$24 million
Jefferson	$22 million
Santa Rosa	$21 million
Seminole	$21 million
Calhoun	$16 million
Bradford	$14 million
Hamilton	$14 million
Citrus	$14 million
Dixie	$8 million
Nassau	$8 million
Washington	$6 million
Bay	$5 million
Leon	$4 million
Taylor	$4 million
Monroe	$2 million
Pinellas	$2 million
Wakulla	$2 million
Liberty	$1 million
Franklin	Less than $1 million

Sales for the following counties cannot be disclosed due to a confidentiality requirement: Baker, Clay, Columbia, Duval, Okaloosa, and Union.

Florida Phosphate Facts

Florida is the world leader in phosphate rock production, annually producing 75 percent of the U.S. supply and 25 percent of the world supply. Of all the phosphate in commercial production: 90 percent is used for fertilizer for the production of food and fiber; 5 percent is used for livestock feed supplements; 5 percent is used for vitamins, soft drinks, toothpaste, film, light bulbs, bone china, flame-resistant fabrics, and optical glass.