Agriculture's Past

“I’d say there’s one pretty simple concept that’s kept us in business 50 years,” says Bill Ingram (left, with brother Doug). “You give the people what they want.” [Photo: Joshua Prezant]

Top Crop? Horticulture reigns.

The Ingram family of Homestead embodies perhaps the biggest shift in Florida agriculture in the past 50 years — the emergence of horticulture, which has become Florida’s most significant crop by any number of measures. In 1958, as a “shot in the dark” experiment, the family, which had grown citrus, began growing landscaping plants that they sold in cans to their neighbors. Some fellow farmers thought they were crazy. Today, the Ingrams grow more than 1,000 varieties, shipping them all over Florida, the Caribbean and the eastern seaboard. Meanwhile, as Florida’s rapid population growth and urbanization drove up demand for shrubbery, it also drove a decline in citrus land. Citrus acreage has been dropping since it peaked in 1970 at 941,000 acres. But even as citrus acreage fell 22% between 2004 and 2005, the statewide crop’s value rose 14% to $1.02 billion — a testament to technology and farmers getting more fruit from fewer trees.

Changing Values

The chart reflects two trends over the past 50 years: More production from fewer acres, and the emergence of horticulture.

Crop			1958	Now
	Horticulture	Value	$55.4 million	$1.8 billion
		Acres	N/A	N/A
	Citrus	Value	$116.4 million	$1.36 billion
		Acres	513,000	621,000
	Livestock	Value	$42.3 million	$1.3 billion
		Acres	N/A	N/A
	Field crops*	Value	$55.4 million	$499.1 million
		Acres	N/A	N/A
	Tomatoes	Value	$42.3 million	$464 million
		Acres	46,300	37,800
	Strawberries	Value	$1.37 million	$329.3 million
		Acres	1,500	8,300
	Snap beans	Value	$14.7 million	$217.4 million
		Acres	53,800	34,500
	Green peppers	Value	$12.1 million	$183.1 million
		Acres	14,100	17,500
	Watermelon	Value	$11.5 million	$152.5 million
		Acres	72,000	24,800
	Sweet corn	Value	$14.3 million	$112.8 million
		Acres	48,900	29,500
	Cucumbers	Value	$9.2 million	$71.6 million
		Acres	13,300	9,900
	Squash	Value	$3.5 million	$52.9 million
		Acres	11,000	10,900
	Cabbage	Value	$5.6 million	$47.1 million
		Acres	17,500	7,400
* Including corn, tobacco, wheat and soybeans
Source: Florida Department of Agriculture

Tags: Agriculture, Environment