Agriculture and Education

Agriculture

» $6.4 billion
» 0.8% of Florida’s GDP
» GDP rank: No. 19

» Employment: 151,348
» 1.4% of total employment
» Employment rank: 17

» 25% — Percentage of Florida’s land that is in agriculture

While growing cattle, oranges, citrus, shrubs, trees and other crops is a highly visible and historically important part of Florida’s economy, Florida’s ag sector generates about 1% of both the state’s GDP and employment. This truth reflects a number of factors: Growth in other sectors, the fact that much ag-related activity — the manufacture of orange juice, for example, and the sale of ranches and farms — shows up in other categories, and the simple economic fact that you have to sell a lot of cows or oranges to generate the same dollars as the construction or sale of a single house.

Education

» $8.4 billion
» 1% of Florida’s GDP
» GDP rank: No. 18

» Employment: 212,096
» 1.9% of total employment
» Employment rank: 15

Starting pay varies among school districts. The state Department of Education says the average salary for Florida teachers for the 2013-14 school year was $47,780. According to the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average salary for all Florida workers is just over $41,000.

» 48,000 — Number of commercial farms in Florida in 2013, comprising a total of 9.55 million acres

» 2 — Florida’s rank in the U.S. for value of vegetable production

» 1 — Florida’s rank in production value for oranges, fresh market tomatoes, watermelons, grapefruit, fresh market snap beans, fresh market cucumbers and squash

» 2 — Rank in the production of greenhouse and nursery products, bell peppers, strawberries, fresh market sweet corn, spring potatoes, tangerines and avocados

Tags: Agriculture, Education, Economic Backbone, A Day in the Working Life