Florida Agriculture Overview and Statistics

Florida’s 47,400 farms and ranches utilize 9.7 million acres and continue to produce a wide variety of safe and dependable food products. From the citrus groves and nurseries in Central and South Florida, to the vegetables in various regions around the state, to the cattle and calves throughout the state, these farms and ranches provide Florida with a large and stable economic base. In 2019 Florida ranked first in the United States in the value of production for bell peppers for fresh market, grapefruit, oranges, sugarcane, fresh market tomatoes, and watermelons; second in the value of production for bell peppers, fresh market sweet corn, and strawberries; and third in fresh market cabbage, cabbage, peanuts and squash.

Total Production Value of Florida Products  — 2019

Farms and Land in Farms

In 2019 Florida had 47,400 commercial farms, using a total of 9.7 million acres. There were 5,000 farms with sales exceeding $100,000. The average farm size was 205 acres. Florida ranks 15th among all states in number of farms and 30th in land in farms.

Cash Receipts

Farm cash receipts from marketing Florida agricultural products in 2019 amounted to $7.67 billion. Nationally, Florida ranks second in the value of floriculture cash receipts at $951 million, third in miscellaneous crop cash receipts with a value of $1.45 billion, and 18th in total cash receipts.

Horticulture

The 2019 U.S. wholesale value of floriculture crops is down 7% from the 2018 valuation. The total crop value at wholesale for all growers with $10,000 or more in sales is estimated at $4.42 billion for 2019, compared with $4.77 billion for 2018. California and Florida account for 47% of the total value. The number of producers for 2019, at 5,198, is down 19% compared with the 2018 count.

Florida total wholesale value of floriculture crops sold by operations with $100,000 or more of sales, at $1.06 billion, is up 13% from 2018. Florida accounts for 76% of the U.S. wholesale value of cut cultivated greens, 74% of the value of foliage plants, and 30% of the value of potted flowering plants.

Vegetables, Melons and Berries

The 2019 value of production for the published major berries, potatoes, vegetable crops, and watermelons totaled $1.75 billion, down 2% from the comparable 2018 value. The ranking from the highest to lowest value of the berry, potato, vegetables and watermelon crops is:

1. Tomatoes
2. Strawberries
3. Bell peppers
4. Watermelons
5. Sweet corn
6. Cucumbers
7. Potatoes
8. Snap beans
9. Cabbage
10. Blueberries

The crops that increased in percentage and value were cabbage (+32%), tomatoes (+28%) and watermelons (+5%). Crops that decreased in value and percentage included bell peppers (-4%), strawberries (-6%), sweet corn (-10%), cucumbers (-14%), snap beans (-18%), potatoes (-28%) and blueberries (-29%).

Citrus

United States citrus utilized production for the 2018-2019 season totaled 7.94 million tons, up 31% from the 2017-2018 season. California accounted for 51% of total United States citrus production; Florida accounted for 44%, while Texas and Arizona produced the remaining 5%.

Florida's orange production, at 71.8 million boxes, is up 59% from the previous season. Grapefruit utilization in Florida, at 4.51 million boxes, is up 16% from last season's utilization. Tangerine and tangelo utilization in Florida, at 990,000 boxes, is up 32% from the previous season.

Florida Citrus Production

Forestry

The state of Florida has 17.16 million acres (26,807 square miles) of forestland, representing 50% of the state’s total land area. The state has extensive natural and planted pine and hardwood forests that are commercially utilized for production of a wide variety of wood building materials, consumer paper and packaging products, chemicals, and renewable biomass fuels. Nearly two-thirds of Florida’s forestlands are privately owned by industry, corporations, families or individuals.

2017 employment impacts were 114,590 full- and part-time jobs and 3.79 billion in wages paid. The largest sector was landscaping services, with nearly 10,000 establishments, 73,382 employees and $2.3 billion in wages, followed by nursery and floriculture production (19,144 jobs), lawn and garden stores (6,383 jobs), and nursery/florist wholesalers (6,226 jobs).

Field Crops

The 2019 total value of production for corn, cotton, cottonseed, hay and peanuts totaled $334 million, an increase of 5% from the previous year’s total of $319 million. The total value of peanut production increased 14% and was valued at $119 million. The total value of corn production decreased 10% and was valued at $39.1 million. The value of cottonseed production increased 114% and was valued at $6.36 million. The value of cotton production increased 50% and was valued at $52.6 million. The value of hay production increased 12% and was valued at $117 million.

Livestock

All cattle and calves on Florida farms and ranches as of January 1, 2020, including dairy cattle, totaled 1.68 million head, unchanged from 2019. Beef cows in Florida were 904,000 head, down 10,000 head from 2019. Among the states on January 1, 2020, Florida ranked 13th in beef cows and 18th in total cattle. Calves born during 2019 totaled 810,000 head, down 10,000 head from 2018.

Florida County Value of Agricultural Products Sold in 2019

This information is provided by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Ag Census every five years. The next update will be in 2024.

Exports

Top Florida Agricultural Exports — 2019

Florida's Agricultural Export Partners — 2019