Florida Agricultural Statistics Service

Division of Marketing and Development
Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services
United States Department of Agriculture

2009-2010 Overview of Activities

Reliable information is essential to making production, marketing, and policy decisions for the agricultural community. The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services shares in a cooperative federal/state program responsible for collecting and disseminating Florida agricultural statistics. Information on the state’s major commodities is gathered through onsite producer surveys, voluntary mail questionnaires, and telephone and personal interviews. Statistics compiled from these data are available in over 200 reports issued annually.

In the past year, the Florida Agricultural Statistics Service staffed an informational booth at industry trade shows for citrus, cattle, and nursery producers as part of its public relations efforts. The booth allowed the service to promote its role in the industry and increase the visibility of its reports.

Citrus

An initial citrus production forecast is issued in October and modified monthly through the citrus season based on fruit size measurements and observations on drop rate. These forecasts are based exclusively on objective data obtained directly by field personnel, including an extensive limb count survey conducted from July to September to estimate fruit set per tree. Florida’s citrus growers produced an estimated 133.6 million boxes of all oranges and 20.3 million boxes of grapefruit in the 2009-2010 season.

Cash receipts for all citrus crops sold in 2009 totaled $1.52 billion, compared to $1.75 billion in the 2008 season. Citrus accounted for 21.4 percent of all cash receipts in 2009.

Vegetables

Florida growers harvested fresh market vegetables from 224,000 acres in 2009. Cash receipts for all vegetables amounted to $1.64 billion, which amounted to 23.2 percent of all cash receipts in 2009. Tomatoes, peppers, snap beans, sweet corn, potatoes, and cucumbers accounted for the largest amount of sales among vegetable crops.

Greenhouse and Nursery Production

The total value of Florida greenhouse and nursery production exceeds $1.67 billion.

Berries and Melons

Strawberry production for 2009 was up from the year before, resulting in cash receipts of $313.6 million compared to $249.4 million in 2008. Lower production for watermelons resulted in a decrease in total crop value to $135.8 million in 2009.

Field Crops

Sugarcane production was down from the previous year, with total cash receipts decreasing to $403.1 million in 2009. Cash receipts for peanuts decreased to $69.6 million, due to lower production in 2009. Higher prices for cotton produced cash receipts of $33.1 million in 2009, compared to $37.7 million in 2008.

Other Fruits and Nuts

Receipts for other fruits and nuts, such as avocados, blueberries, pecans, and miscellaneous fruit and nuts, at $117.6 million, were up from $98.7 million in 2008.

Dairy

Cash receipts from marketings of Florida milk in 2009 totaled $350 million, down from $464 million in 2008. In 2009, the peak price of replacement milk cows was $1,600 per head in January. The annual average farm-gate price for milk in Florida was $16.90 per hundredweight in 2009, down from $22.60 in 2008. Production in Florida of low-fat ice cream was 23,921,000 gallons, down from 24,048,000 gallons in 2008.

Cattle and Calves

All cattle and calves on Florida farms and ranches as of January 1, 2010, including dairy cattle, totaled 1,720,000 head, up 20,000 from 2009. The three top-ranking counties for cattle were Okeechobee, Osceola, and Polk counties. Beef cows in Florida totaled 958,000 head, up 16,000 head from 2009. Nationally, Florida ranked 10th in beef cows and 18th in total cattle. Calves born during 2009 totaled 900,000, up 20,000 head from 2008. Cash receipts from cattle and calf marketings were $375 million, down from $405 million in 2008. The average annual beef price of cattle marketed in Florida in 2009 was $67.30 per hundredweight, down from $70.70 per hundredweight in 2008. The average price for calves in 2009 was $93.70 per hundredweight, down from $98.90 per hundredweight in 2008.

Poultry and Eggs

The total value of Florida egg production in 2009 was $152.6 million, down from $234.5 million in 2008. The average annual price for eggs (hatching and table eggs, combined) was 68.6 cents per dozen, down from 102 cents per dozen in 2008. The value of broilers produced in Florida during 2009 totaled $115 million, down from $173 million a year earlier. The average annual price of broilers in 2009 was 46 cents per pound, unchanged from 2008.

Honey

Florida was fifth in the nation in honey production in 2009 (behind North Dakota, South Dakota, California, and Montana) with 10.2 million pounds valued at $14.1 million. There were an estimated 150,000 colonies in the state in 2009 with an average honey yield of 68 pounds per colony, 11 pounds per colony less than in 2008.