Florida's unique subtropical climate makes it one of the nation's leaders in many industries, and agriculture is no exception. Plentiful rainfall, rich organic soils and warm temperatures throughout the year create an ideal setting for abundant growth in Florida. Florida has 44,000 commercial farms. About half of Florida's land area is used in agriculture. Agriculture in Florida uses over 3 billion gallons of freshwater a day. Agriculture is the largest water user in our fair state, using 48% of the total freshwater withdrawals from ground and surface water (2000).

FLORIDA AGRICULTURE - 2002 -
PRODUCTS	Net Value of Sales	% of Total
ALL CROPS	$5.6 billion	82%
Citrus	$1.46 billion	21.4
Oranges	$1.16 b	17
Grapefruit	$183 million	2.7
Tangerines	$98m	1.4
Other Fruits	$245m	3.6
Strawberries	$153m	2.2
Blueberries	$18.5m	.27
Avocados	$17.2m	.25
Vegetables & Melons	$1.57 billion	22.9
Tomatoes	$508m	7.4
Green Peppers	$219m	3.2
Potatoes	$211m	3.1
Field Crops	$632m	9.2
Sugarcane	$518m	7.6
Peanuts	$35m	.51
Cotton	$22.8m	.33
Nursery Plants	$877m	12.8
Aquatic Plants	$22m	.32
ALL LIVESTOCK	$1.24 billion	18%
Milk	$356m	5.2
Cattle and Calves	$333m	4.9
Boilers	$195m	2.9
Eggs	$109m	1.6
ALL AGRICULTURE	$6.84 billion	100%

Florida's agriculture industry is second only to its tourism industry. In 2002, agriculture had total cash receipts of over $6.85 billion, ranking Florida 9th in the nation. Florida is the top producer in the nation of citrus and sugarcane; 2nd in greenhouse and nursery products, tomatoes, strawberries, and aquaculture products and 3rd in honey. Aside from citrus and sugarcane, the main crops grown in Florida are tomatoes, green peppers, strawberries, snap beans, sweet corn, and cucumbers. Florida's vegetable production ranks 2nd in the nation with cash receipts of $1.5 billion (2002). Livestock is also a major sector of Florida agriculture; sales of beef, dairy, poultry, and eggs total $1.24 billion (2002).

Florida agriculture is vulnerable to changes in water supply. During the dry season crops require the addition of water (irrigation). Conversely, during the wet season agriculture requires flood control (especially in Florida!) to prevent crop and land damage. Aquatic plant management is essential in times of both draught and flooding and is supported by farmers.

Because certain aquatic herbicides can harm certain crop plants, Florida's aquatic plant managers and farmers cooperate in the coordinated timing of herbicide application and crop irrigation. For example, fluoridone treatments against hydrilla in Lake Okahumpka are coordinated with farmers who grow peppers and watermellons on adjacent land; fluoridone use on Lake Hatchnehaw is coordinated with adjacent sod farming' and water hyacinth treatment with 2,4-D in Lake County is coordinated with adjacent fern growers.

Irrigation canals, ditches and impoundments must be kept free of invasive aquatic weeds because

• submersed weeds can occupy up to 70% of the volume of a water channel, irrigation or watering pond, thus greatly reducing water-storage and water-movement efficiency;
• unchecked aquatic weeds can reduce water movement by as much as 75% in a canal or ditch;
• certain aquatic plants can "drink up" and transpire much of the water that is meant for irrigation.

Likewise, agriculture flood control channels must be kept free of invasive aquatic weeds because they otherwise would reduce water capacity and reduce water flow, thus requiring much longer to drain flooded agriculture fields (and neighborhoods).

Herbicides, machines and biological controls, especially grass carp, are used by Florida farmers and ranchers to maintain irrigation and flood control channels.

For information about plant management in farm ponds, download this UF/IFAS-Extension publication, Weed Control in Florida Ponds, by D.D. Thayer, K.A. Langeland, W.T. Haller and J.C. Joyce.

For information about plant management in agricultural canals, download this UF/IFAS-Extension publication, Aquatic Weed Management in Citrus Canals and Ditches, by B. Bowman, C. Wilson, V.V. Vandiver and J. Hebb.

For information about algae management in farm ponds, download this UF/IFAS-Extension publication, Use of Copper in Freshwater Aquaculture and Farm Ponds, by C. Watson and R.P.E. Yanong.

For information about using grass carp in agricultural weed management, download this UF/IFAS-Extension publication, Biological Control with Grass Carp, by V.V. Vandiver.

Beginning in 1764 with British control, plantations emerged along the northern east coast growing rice, cotton, indigo and oranges. From the 1820s to 1850s, planters from South Carolina, Virginia and other southeastern states brought their plantation culture to the panhandle and northern counties of Florida and began growing cotton, tobacco, corn, and sugarcane. After the mid-1800s, as railroad lines began to extend to the interior and southern part of Florida, orange groves were planted by the thousands of acres. By the 1930s, substantial portions of the Everglades had been drained and taken over by muckland farmers growing sugarcane and winter vegetables southeast of Lake Okeechobee. As urban centers began to concentrate human populations of Florida, increased agriculture began to fill many of the remaining rural areas of the state.

LAND AND WATER USE
There are 44,000 commercial farms in Florida which utilize 10.2 million acres to produce the majority of Florida's vegetables, citrus, and feed for livestock. The beef industry uses over 7 million acres. These and other agriculture lands (aquaculture, nursery crops, tropical fruits, and sod) make up about 52% of Florida's 35 million acres.

Surprisingly, only a relatively small amount of this land, about 2 million acres, requires irrigation. This number sounds small; nonetheless, agricultural irrigation in Florida uses over 3 billion gallons of freshwater a day. Agriculture is the largest water user in Florida, using 48% of the total freshwater withdrawals from ground and surface water (in the year 2000). Of this, fruit crops use about half of the total water used in agriculture. Field crops (sugarcane, cotton, field corn, soybeans, and peanuts) are next, using 25%. Grasses and ornamental plants use 15%, vegetable crops 10%, and livestock and aquaculture use only 1%.

Citrus crops by far use the most water (about 1.5 billion gallons per day), followed by sugarcane (about 830 million gallons per day). Ornamentals and grasses use up a considerable amount of water, 430 million gallons per day. Tomatoes are next, using 100 million gallons per day.

Another method of saving water in agriculture is the reuse of wastewater. Technology is expanding that allows growers to capture and reuse storm water and irrigation water. Growers near urban areas also help city water suppliers by reusing domestic wastewater. For example, wastewater from the City of Orlando is distributed to nearby citrus groves, sod producers receive wastewater from the City of Sarasota, and local agricultural producers reuse the City of Okeechobee's wastewater. These methods provide irrigation water during dry periods and lessen agriculture's stress on water supplies.

Besides irrigation, water is also necessary for:

• field preparation: moist soil is often needed in order to achieve the best plant growth, development, herbicide efficacy, and irrigation operation.
• crop establishment: water is needed for seed germination or to minimize stress levels on young plants.
• crop cooling: when plants lose water through evapotranspiration and aren't receiving enough water to make up for the loss, plants start to wilt. Cooling is also necessary when warmer than normal temperatures initiate early flowering.
• cold protection: when frosts and freezes threaten crops, irrigation provides heat to the plants since the water is warmer than the air. More heat is also provided as the water freezes and releases energy.
• soil erosion and abrasion control: windy conditions can cause loose, dry soil to be lost, resulting in erosion. The airborne soil particles can also cause abrasions to plants and fruit.
• salt leaching: when plants use water from the soil, salts are left behind which creates toxic salinity levels. Water is needed to dilute the salt level in the soil.
• fertigation and chemigation: applying fertilizer and chemicals to crops through irrigation systems increases their efficiency which reduces the amount of nutrients leached out of the roots.
• maintenance: irrigation systems must be tested to check for leaks and flush out debris.
• evapotranspiration requirements: the transfer of liquid water to the vapor form in crops is called evapotranspiration (ET) and is necessary for growth and cooling. When rainfall amounts don't meet ET needs, irrigation is required.
• livestock drinking and washing
• cattle cooling ponds: about 30% of Florida's dairy farms have cooling ponds usually man-made ponds used to bring down the temperature of cattle. A typical cooling pond requires 112,200 gallons of water.

Most of such problems center around runoff from fertilized lands and the resulting buildup of phosphorus and nitrogen in waterbodies. Pollution from agriculture is classified as "non-point source" pollution which is not nearly as regulated as "point source" pollution. Phosphorus that drains from the Everglades Agricultural Area has been determined to be the primary cause of algal blooms in Lake Okeechobee. In a 1994 report by the EPA, agriculture was determined to be the leading cause of water quality impairment in the nation's rivers and lakes. The same study found that 49 states report groundwater contamination by nitrates, and 43 states report contamination by pesticides, thus leading the EPA to conclude that agriculture is the leading cause of groundwater pollution.

Another effect of agriculture is subsidence. This is when Florida's wet soils are drained, dried, and oxidized or blown away and the land surface falls. In the Everglades, subsidence rates are about 1 inch per year. Since 1924, when the drainage of the Everglades began, until 1984, approximately 5 vertical feet of land volume was lost due to subsidence (see picture on p. 108 of the Everglades book).

See the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations's web page on agricultural impacts on water quality.

Also see this EPA web page on non-point source pollution from agriculture.

Florida's citizens are divided on their views of agriculture. All people need food, and Florida is a major food-producer for the world. As well, hundreds of thousands of working people and businesses depend on the economic benefits generated by Florida's agriculture. Yet many people think that the negative impacts of Florida's agriculture outweigh the positives.

Two basic facts remain:
1) there is not enough land left in Florida for agriculture expansion. In Florida, land is either set aside for conservation, or it becomes part of the 150,000 acres per year of productive farmland that is lost to urban development.
And 2) there is not enough water to accomodate the needs of agriculture and high population growth; already the first hints of "water wars" have been heard.

Still, with the agriculturists' inate love of nature, enforced laws and regulations, and better technology, Florida agriculture not only continues to be productive, but also continues to be a steward of the environment.