Overview of Florida Agriculture

In 2005, Florida had 42,500 commercial farms, utilizing 10 million acres to continue to produce a variety of food products.

Florida ranked first in the United States for sales of snap beans, fresh market tomatoes, cucumbers for fresh market, cucumbers for pickles, bell peppers, squash and watermelons.

Florida also ranked first in the United States in the value of production of oranges, grapefruit, tangerines, and sugarcane for sugar and seed.

Florida ranked second in the United States in sales of greenhouse and nursery products, sweet corn and strawberries.

Florida ranked fourth in value of production of honey.

In 2005 Florida accounted for:
-- 56 percent of the total U.S. value of production for oranges ($843 million)
-- 52 percent of the total U.S. value of production for grapefruit ($208 million)
-- 53 percent of the total U.S. value of production for tangerines ($68.4 million)
-- 53 percent of the total U.S. value of production for sugarcane for sugar and seed ($433 million as of 2004)
-- 49 percent of the total U.S. value of sales for fresh market tomatoes ($805 million)
-- 44 percent of the total U.S. value of sales for bell peppers ($213 million)
-- 31 percent of the total U.S. value of sales for cucumbers for fresh market ($73.7 million)
-- 31 percent of the total U.S. value of sales for watermelons ($127 million)

Farms and Land in Farms

Florida had 42,500 commercial farms in 2005, using a total of 10,000,000 acres. There were 6,300 farms with sales exceeding $100,000. The average farm size was just under 235 acres. The number of farms in Florida has remained fairly stable over the past 10 years.

Year	Total Number of Farms	Total Acres	Average Farm Size
1996	45,000	10,700,000	237.8
1997	45,000	10,600,000	235.6
1998	45,000	10,500,000	233.3
1999	45,000	10,500,000	233.3
2000	44,000	10,400,000	236.4
2001	44,000	10,300,000	234.1
2002	44,000	10,300,000	234.1
2003	44,000	10,200,000	231.8
2004	43,200	10,100,000	234.0
2005	42,500	10,000,000	235.0

Cash Receipts

Nationally Florida ranks second in the value of vegetables and melon production, with cash receipts of $1.4 billion, third in fruit and nuts with receipts of $1.5 billion, fifth in all crops with receipts of $5.4 billion, and 10th in total cash receipts.

Commodity	2004 Receipts	Percent of Total
All Commodities	$6,843,731,000	100.00
Citrus	$1,242,029,000	18.15
Other Fruits and Nuts	$236,728,000	3.94
Vegetables and Melons	$1,446,654,000	21.14
Field Crops	$704,711,000	10.30
Foliage and Floriculture	$825,672,000	12.06
Aquatic Plants	$20,000,000	0.29
Other Crops and Products	$850,801,000	12.43
Milk	$431,616,000	6.31
Cattle and Calves	$443,145,000	6.48
Poultry and Eggs	$399,108,000	5.44
Aquaculture	$68,539,000	1.00
Miscellaneous Livestock	$141,818,000	2.06

Horticulture

In 2005, the wholesale value of Florida foliage plants was almost $500 million. Florida leads the nation in sales of potted foliage for indoor use and foliage hanging baskets with sales of $499.7 million during 2005. Florida also remains the nation’s leader in sales of cut cultivated greens among the 36 states surveyed. Florida sales of all cut greens during 2005 totaled about $78 million, 75 percent of the value for all cut greens sold in the 36 states surveyed.

Vegetables, Melons and Berries

The 2004-2005 value of production and harvested acreage for the seven major vegetable crops, potatoes, berries and watermelons totaled $1,893,183,000 and 219,900, respectively. Production value was up15 percent from the 2003-2004 value of $1,650,000,000 and harvested acreage was down 64,300 acres (or 23 percent) at 219,900, from the 284,200 acres from the 2003-2004 season. All crops except sweet corn and bell peppers showed increases in the value of production.

Citrus

Florida accounted for 67 percent of total U.S. citrus production. California totaled 29 percent, while Texas and Arizona produced the remaining 4 percent. U.S. citrus utilized production for the 2004-2005 season totaled 11.4 million tons. Production was down in all Florida commercial citrus production areas from the 2003-2004 season. Indian River area was down the most at 76 percent. Production did decrease in each of the 30 counties, because of the hurricanes of the 2004 season.

Citrus Crop Year	Value
1995-96	$1,075,817,000
1996-97	$960,496,000
1997-98	$1,023,383,000
1998-99	$1,097,253,000
1999-00	$1,108,523,000
2000-01	$862,031,000
2001-02	$966,803,000
2002-03	$787,378,000
2003-04	$891,500,000
2004-05	$742,201,000

Forestry

Eighty-two million trees are planted each year in Florida, making it one of the top four tree-planting states in the nation.

Standing Timber Volume (as of 1995)

Leading Softwood Species
Slash Pine	4,304,700,000
Cypress	2,328,700,000
Longleaf Pine	1,057,500,000
Loblolly Pine	893,500,000
Sand Pine	489,600,000
Softwood Total	9,429,400,000

Leading Hardwood Species
Tupelo and Blackgum	1,484,400,000
Other Red Oaks	1,373,700,000
Bay and Magnolia	853,700,000
Sweetgum	563,400,000
Soft Maple	445,100,000
Hardwood Total	5,942,000,000

All Species Total	15,366,400,000

Field Crops

The 2005 value of production for hay, peanuts, cotton and cottonseed, tobacco, corn, pecans, soybeans, and wheat in Florida was at $189,377,000. Acreage harvested for the field crops estimated (excluding sugarcane) totaled 573,500 acres for crop year 2005, up 5 percent. The value of sugarcane was $432,714,000 down 21 percent. Sugarcane cash receipts make up 78 percent of Florida’s cash receipts from field crops. Florida ranks number one in the production of sugarcane nationwide.

Livestock

Nationally, Florida ranked 12th in beef cows and 18th in total cattle. All cattle and calves on Florida farms and ranches as of January 1, 2006, including dairy cattle, totaled 1,690,000 head. The average annual beef price of cattle marketed in Florida in 2005 was $80.00, up from $63.20 per cwt in 2004. Florida dairies produced 2.27 billion pounds of milk in 2005. The total value of Florida chicken and egg production in 2005 was $305 million. The average market price in 2005 for hogs was $44.50 per cwt.

Exports

Florida ranked 16th in the U.S. in agricultural exports in 2005 with an estimated value of $1,261,000,000. This figure is down from 2004 by $51 million.

Commodity Group	Export Value in Dollars	U.S. Ranking
Fruits	513,500,000	3
Other	343,900,000	5
Vegetables	174,700,000	4
Seeds	38,400,000	5
Live Animals/Meat	33,000,000
Poultry	32,200,000
Wheat	23,800,000
Feeds and Fodders	23,300,000
Dairy Products	22,500,000
Cotton	21,100,000

Over 140 countries imported Florida Agricultural commodities in 2004.
The leading importers were:

Canada	$140,199,000
Japan	$50,865,000
The Netherlands	$29,243,000
United Arab Emirates	$19,024,000

Florida County Value of Agricultural Products Sold in 2002

County	Total
Palm Beach	$760 million
Dade	$578 million
Hillsborough	$392 million
Hendry	$376 million
Polk	$285 million
Collier	$268 million
Manatee	$268 million
Orange	$243 million
Highlands	$236 million
DeSoto	$180 million
Lake	$178 million
Hardee	$166 million
Okeechobee	$144 million
Suwannee	$136 million
Martin	$128 million
St. Lucie	$128 million
Indian River	$117 million
Lee	$113 million
Volusia	$106 million
Gadsden	$91 million
Marion	$88 million
Pasco	$84 million
Levy	$83 million
Glades	$72 million
Osceola	$65 million
St. Johns	$60 million
Alachua	$59 million
Broward	$50 million
Charlotte	$48 million
Lafayette	$48 million
Columbia	$47 million
Putnam	$47 million
Gilchrist	$45 million
Brevard	$42 million
Clay	$37 million
Jackson	$36 million
Sumter	$31 million
Holmes	$30 million
Nassau	$27 million
Baker	$25 million
Madison	$25 million
Flagler	$24 million
Duval	$22 million
Hernando	$22 million
Jefferson	$21 million
Santa Rosa	$21 million
Walton	$20 million
Seminole	$19 million
Bradford	$18 million
Sarasota	$18 million
Escambia	$16 million
Calhoun	$14 million
Taylor	$13 million
Hamilton	$12 million
Union	$11 million
Pinellas	$8 million
Citrus	$7 million
Dixie	$7 million
Leon	$7 million
Okaloosa	$7 million
Washington	$6 million
Monroe	$3 million
Bay	$2 million
Wakulla	$2 million
Liberty	Less than $1 million
Franklin	Less than $1 million

Organic Farming

The USDA proposed national standards for organic farming and handling in 1997. The federal regulations for organic standards were finalized in 2001 and began full implementation in 2002. Generally, organic food is produced by farmers who emphasize the use of renewable resources and the conservation of soil and water to enhance environmental quality for future generations.

"Organic" also:

-- Allows for minimal "inputs," such as fertilizers and pesticides;

-- Establishes labeling standards for allowable materials, restricted materials and prohibited materials, including foods produced using biotechnology and irradiation;

-- Allows some "natural" pesticides to be used (synthetic pesticides are not permitted);

-- Allows some synthetic pesticide residues, resulting from pesticide "drift" from other fields or from the soil of a field in which synthetic pesticides were previously used, to remain on organic produce.

The USDA Organic seal identifies that a product is at least 95 percent "organic." Before a product can be labeled "organic," a USDA-approved certifier must inspect the farm where the food is grown to make sure the farmer is following all the rules necessary to meet USDA "organic" standards.

Market Value of Organic Agricultural Products Sold in 2002

County	Farms	Sales
Dade	36	$1,946,000
Polk	19	$393,000
Indian River	17	$362,000
Hendry	3	$250,000
Hillsborough	28	$220,000
Alachua	15	$198,000
Orange	6	$138,000
DeSoto	3	$65,000
Santa Rosa	10	$64,000
Hernando	8	$46,000
Putnam	9	$45,000
Palm Beach	13	$43,000
Sarasota	5	$40,000
Calhoun	3	$39,000
Gadsden	11	$19,000
Escambia	4	$14,000
Seminole	8	$13,000
Okeechobee	7	$13,000
Jackson	8	$12,000
Marion	12	$7,000
Leon	4	$6,000
Citrus	4	$5,000
Bay	3	$5,000
Walton	3	$5,000
Broward	5	$4,000
Columbia	4	$4,000

Sales for the following counties cannot be disclosed due to confidentiality requirement:

Lake	2
Lee	10
Jefferson	9
Pasco	9
Highlands	6
Sumter	6
Volusia	6
Martin	3
Monroe	2
Nassau	2
Okaloosa	2
Osceola	2
Union	2
Baker	1
Bradford	1
Dixie	1
Flagler	1
Gulf	1
Hardee	1
Holmes	1
Madison	1
St. Johns	1
Suwannee	1
Wakulla	4
Washington	4
Brevard	3
Manatee	3
St. Lucie	3
Charlotte	2
Clay	2
Collier	2
Duval	2
Levy	2

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.