As alligator mating season heats up — pardon the pun — in May and June, here are a few things to know about the alligator business.
Alligators are an iconic Florida critter but, as an industry, alligator farming is small beans — literally. The value of the Florida alligator hides and meat harvest in 2024 was roughly $7 million. The state's snap beans crop value is $93 million.
The money is in hides. When alligator skins are in demand by the fashion industry, prices are strong. Fashion houses like "clean" skins and favor hides from farm alligators, which have less scarring than hides from animals in the wild. Louisiana dominates the farming industry.
Alligators don't readily reproduce in captivity. Alligator farms rely on buying eggs taken from nests in the wild to re-populate farms. The state regulates the egg collection.
In 2025, 54,748 eggs were collected on public lands at a price to farmers of $5 per egg. Another 120,606 eggs were collected on private property at $2 per egg, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.