Profile and Economic Impacts of Agriculture and Natural Resource Industries in the South Region of Florida1
Executive Summary
This report provides a profile of agricultural and natural resource industries and an overview of their economic impacts for a 10-county region in south Florida based on data from the IMPLAN Pro database for Florida counties for 2002 and data from the 2002 Census of Agriculture. Descriptive data include farm characteristics (number, distribution, farm land use, and investment in land and buildings); value of agricultural products; and measures of economic impacts such as output, value-added, and employment. Where possible, changes during the 1997-2002 period are highlighted. Additional reports are available for other major regions of Florida. In 2002, the south region of Florida had over 6,000 farms and over 2.3 million acres of farmland with an estimated asset value of land and buildings close to $7.8 billion. Fruit and tree farming along with greenhouse, nursery, and floriculture dominated the farm numbers in the south region. Major areas of agricultural activities in the south region included nursery, greenhouse, and sod; vegetables, melons, and potatoes; fruits, tree nuts, and berries; and livestock, poultry, milk and dairy products. The market value of agricultural products sold in the south region exceeded $2.3 billion in 2002, where the value nursery, greenhouse, and sod sector ($783 million) constituted the highest portion (34 percent). Net farm cash income from farm operations exceeded $820 million for all farms in the south region for the same period. Miami-Dade County had the highest farm numbers, Hendry County had the highest farm acreage and estimated asset value of land and buildings, and Palm Beach County had the highest value of all agricultural products sold in the south region. Changes in the south region during the 1997-2002 period included a 4 percent increase in the number of farms and an11 percent decrease in farm acreage. However, the market value of all agricultural products sold increased 4 percent between the two census periods. The value of fruits, tree nuts, and berries increased 29 percent, while the value of livestock, poultry, and their products decreased 3 percent during the 1997-2002 period.The total economic impact for all agriculture and natural resource industries in the south region exceeded $12 billion in output in 2002. The forestry, wood, and paper products industry was the largest sector, contributing $4 billion in total output impacts (over 33 percent) in the south region. Over 103,000 full- and part-time jobs were generated by agricultural and natural resource industries in the south region. Forestry, wood, and paper products (the dominant industry group) produced over 26,000 jobs and accounted for over 26 percent of total employment impacts for all industry groups in the south region. The total value-added impacts of agricultural and natural resource industries exceeded $5.8 billion in 2002. Once again, the forestry, wood and paper products industry group with $1.7 billion in value-added impacts accounted for over 28 percent of the total value-added impacts (the highest for the south region). In terms of economic impacts, Miami-Dade County had the highest output impacts, employment impacts, and value-added impacts in the south region of Florida.Figure 1. Study area in south region of Florida
Footnotes
1. This is EDIS document, a publication of the Food and Resource Economics Department, Florida Cooperative Extension Service, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL. Published December 2005. Please visit the EDIS website at http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu
2. M. Rahmani, Coordinator of Economic Analysis; A.W. Hodges, Associate In; and W.D. Mulkey, Professor, Food and Resource Economics Department, Florida Cooperative Extension Service, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL.The Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (IFAS) is an Equal
Opportunity Institution authorized to provide research, educational
information and other services only to individuals and institutions
that function with non-discrimination with respect to race, creed,
color, religion, age, disability, sex, sexual orientation, marital
status, national origin, political opinions or affiliations.
For more information on obtaining other extension publications,
contact your county Cooperative Extension service.
U.S. Department of Agriculture, Cooperative Extension Service,
University of Florida, IFAS, Florida A. & M. University Cooperative
Extension Program, and Boards of County Commissioners Cooperating. Larry Arrington, Dean.
