 Florida Agriculture |
Commodity groups cash receipts The tables below offer information about Florida agriculture from the general agricultural groups to the more specific commodities or products. The ranking assigned to a given commodity is based on the commodity's cash receipts; how much money it made. As you can see from the table below, Florida ranks among the states for total agricultural production| Commodity groups cash receipts - 2004 |
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| Product Group | Value ($1,000) | % State total | State rank |
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| All commodities | 6,843,731 | 100.0% | 10 | | Livestock and products | 1,484,136 | 21.7% | 28 | | Crops |
5,359,594 | 78.3% | 5 | | Source: USDA :Economic Research Service |
Florida's top five commodities by cash receipts
This table lists Florida's top commodities in each of Florida's two agricultural groups, livestock and crops. | Florida's top five commodities by cash receipts |
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| Livestock products | % State total | Crop products | % State total |
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| Cattle and calves | 6.5% | Greenhouse/nursery | 23.8% | | Dairy products | 6.3% | Oranges | 14.3% | | Broilers (9-12 week old chickens) | 3.0% | Cane for sugar | 8.0% | | Chicken eggs | 2.3% |
Tomatoes | 7.3% | | Aquaculture | 0.5% | Grapefruit | 2.7% | | Source: USDA: Economic Research Service |
Over 3/4 of Florida's total agricultural production falls into the crops group, with greenhouse and nursery products leading the way. Very important crops are oranges, cane for sugar, and tomatoes followed by grapefruit. Cattle and calves and dairy products are Florida's most important sources of revenue in the livestock and livestock products group. Broilers and eggs follow, with Florida aquaculture (aquarium fish, aquatic plants, shellfish, alligators, catfish, tilapia, hybrid striped bass) rounding out the top five commodities in the livestock group. Leading commodities for cash receipts This table offers a more complete view of the most important agricultural products of Florida. | Leading commodities for cash receipts |
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| Product | Value ($1,000) | % State Value |
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| 1.Greenhouse/nursery |
1,628,672 | 23.8% | | 2.Oranges | 980,309 | 14.3% | | 3.Cane for sugar | 549,669 | 8.0% | | 4.Tomatoes | 500,472 | 7.3% | | 5.Cattle and calves | 443,145 | 6.5% | | 6.Dairy products | 431,616 | 6.3% | | 7 Broilers (9-12 week old chickens) | 208,440 | 3.0% | | 8. Grapefruit | 186,543 | 2.7% | | 9. Strawberries | 177,997 | 2.6% |
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10 Chicken eggs | 159,878 | 2.3% | | 11. Corn, sweet | 110,382 | 1.6% | | 12.Potatoes | 97,115 | 1.4% | | 13. Cucumbers | 83,426 | 1.2% | | 14. Tangerines | 69,880 | 1.0% | | 15. Peanuts | 68,068 | 1.0% | | 16. Watermelons | 67,200 | 1.0% | | 17. Squash | 45,392 | 0.7% | | 18. Aquaculture | 32,139 | 0.5% | | 19. Cabbage |
30,932 | 0.5% | | 20.Cotton | 28,704 | 0.4% | | 21. Blueberries | 25,200 | 0.4% | | 22. Honey | 20,090 | 0.3% | | 23.Tobacco | 17,226 | 0.3% | | Beans, snap * | | | | Mushrooms * | | |
Commodities at the bottom of the above ranked list of commodities and having no accompanying data would have appeared within the ranked list of leading commodities, but were excluded to avoid disclosure of confidential information about individual producers.
Source: USDA: Economic Research Service The table above contains information about Florida agricultural production provided by the Economic Research Service at the United States Department of Agriculture.
The first column of the table lists the product (commodity). The second column of the table lists a number representing the dollar value of the product. This number is not the dollar value of the product. This number represents the dollar value of the product in thousands of dollars. For example, the number listed for the value of greenhouse and nursery products is 1,628,672. This number represents a dollar value of $1,628,672,000 (1,628,672 x 1,000): one billion, six hundred and twenty-eight million, six hundred and seventy-two thousand dollars. The third column of the table lists the percent (part) of the total agricultural value produced in Florida. For example, greenhouse and nursery products account for 23.8% of Florida's total agricultural production value. The dollars generated by the production of greenhouse and nursery products in Florida amount to almost 1/4 of the state's total agricultural production.
Snap beans and mushrooms are among the top 25 commodities produced in Florida but, because specific data are not available, it is not known how they rank among the others. National ranking highlights- Ranks first in production of cane for sugar (55% of U.S. production).
- Ranks first in production of grapefruit (66% of U.S. production).
- Ranks first in production of oranges (62% of U.S. production).
- Ranks first in production of squash (23% of U.S. production).
- Ranks first in production of tangerines (60% of U.S. production).
- Ranks first in production of watermelons (21% of U.S. production).
Florida farms and farmlandBecause of different rounding methods (e.g., farm acres given by the National Agriculture Statistics Service), percentage of farmland per state should be considered a rough estimate.
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| Number of farms | Total farm acres | Percent of state | Average farm size (acres) |
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| 43,000 | 10,105,000 | 30% | 235 |
Source: USDA: National Agriculture Statistics Service - Agriculture:
 Oranges are Florida's most important agricultural product. Other citrus fruits grown include grapefruit, limes, tangerines and tangelos. Tomatoes are Florida's second leading crop. Non-citrus fruits grown include bananas, papayas. strawberries and watermelons. Vegetables grown in Florida are cabbage, celery, cucumbers, green peppers, lettuce, potatoes, snap beans, squash and sweet corn. Florida leads the nation in the production of sugar cane. Other field crops are peanuts, soybeans and tobacco. Florida is second only to California in the production of greenhouse and nursery products and ranks first in the production of indoor plants. Behind all the fruits, vegetables and field crops, beef cattle and milk are Florida's leading livestock products. Poultry and egg production is important along with thoroughbred horses.
- Manufacturing: Citrus fruit processing (fresh fruit juice, canned fruit juice, canned fruit) leads the way in the Florida manufacturing sector. Jellies, marmalades and frozen vegetables are processed, followed by coffee, dairy and seafood. Electrical equipment (military communications systems, broadcasting components and telephone equipment) manufacturing ranks second, behind the food processing industry. Other manufactured products include chemicals (fertilizer), printed material (books, newspapers) and scientific instruments.
- Services: Service industries comprise the largest portion of the Florida economy. The community, business and personal services sector ranks first in importance, with private health care, law firms, hotels and amusement parks, and repair shops. Ranking second is Florida's finance, insurance and real estate industry. Rapid growth in the Sunshine State has resulted in growth in real estate (homes, stores, offices) development, insurance and finance including investment firms. Wholesale (oil, citrus fruits, liquor) and retail (automobile dealerships, food stores, service stations) trade ranks third.
- Mining: About 4/5 of the country's phosphate rock (much used in fertilizer) is produced in Florida, making it the state's most important mined product. Oil is the second ranking mined product followed by limestone. Clays to filter petroleum and for pottery are produced along with some quantities of limonite, monazite, thorium and zircon.
- Fishing: Florida's fishing industry catches shrimp, lobsters, grouper and clams. Commercial fishes include mackerel, mullet, swordfish and tuna. The catch includes, menhaden, oysters, scallops and sharks as well. The major freshwater fish is catfish.
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