The current dollar price received by farmers for oranges rose from $1.96 

 per box in 1960 to $5.00 per box in 1979, an increase of 155%. The real price 

 received by farmers actually fell at an annual rate of 4.3%, whereas retail 

 orange prices fell 2%. 



Information about the returns and costs of orange production are avail- 

 able for 1970-79. The real cash value of the region's orange crop increased 

 172%, whereas production increased 35%. Changes in per acre costs and returns 

 for the average orange farm provides a rise in income. Total real returns per 

 acre have risen 60%, and total real production costs have declined 16%. Real 

 net income (total revenue less total costs) per acre has risen over 75%. All 

 real costs of production have declined and State and local taxes have fallen 

 about 55% because nominal or current dollar taxes have not risen while the 

 costs of most other items have increased. 



Changes in real prices over the long run is an index of the abundance or 



scarcity of oranges (Barnett and Morse 1963). Since the real prices of 



oranges and concentrates declined, there is no scarcity of oranges. This 



decline in prices has been brought about by increasing productivity both at 

 the farm and retail level. 



Tomatoes 



Based on cash receipts. Southwest Florida's second most important culti- 

 vated farni product is tomatoes. The value of tomatoes in 1978 was about $121 

 million in current dollars or $62 million in real dollars (1967 = 100). The 

 production of 17.7 million cartons was 59% of the State's total production. A 

 carton is approximately 33 kg. The production and acreage in 1970 was only 

 about 20% of that for the State. About 9,299 acres were in tomato production, 

 about 55% of the State total. In 1970-78, Southwest Florida's total produc- 

 tion increased 555%, but the acreage increased only 117%, indicating that pro- 

 ductivity increased substantially. The 1970 yield was 250 cartons per acre 

 (5.7 million cartons total) and the 1978 yield was 770 cartons per acre (17.7 

 million cartons total). 



The important changes behind this increase in productivity are linked to 

 the use of "culture under synthetic mulch, plug mix seeding, container-grown 

 transplants, soil fumigation, and use of ethylene for ripening, cultural and 

 harvesting labor on a piece work basis rather than hourly or daily, and other 

 related technological advances" (Institute of Food and Agricultural Services 

 1975). The current wholesale dollar price of tomatoes rose from $4.89 a 

 carton in 1970 to $6.34 a carton in 1978. Yet, the real price of tomatoes 

 fell about 4.3% annually, and retail prices increased less than 1%. 



Milk 



Dairy products rank first among animal products in Southwest Florida. 

 Fluid milk is the single most valuable dairy product and contributes a bulk of 

 Southwest Florida's milk production. In 1978, about 418 million lb or 24.8% 

 of the State's milk was produced in Southwest Florida. The number of milk 

 cattle in 1978 was 187,000 for the State and 42,250 for the region. On the 

 average. Southwest Florida's milk cows are more productive (11,389 lb of milk 



109 



