Table 6. The number of farms and the area (thousands of acres)^ of farm 

 lands and use in intermittent years, 1954-78 (U.S. Department of Commerce, 

 Bureau of Census, Census of Agriculture Annual summaries for 1954-79; Florida 

 Crop and Livestock Reporting Service. Annual field and crop summary 1979). 



Not fully comparable for all years because of differences in definition of a 

 .farm and of cropland used for pasture. 

 Data for 1979. 



caused water pollution in some areas of Florida. This topic will be discussed 

 in detail later in this report. 



The increase in farming technology in recent years in the United States 

 has caused a decline in farm employment (Greene et al . 1980). Florida is an 

 exception. Employment in agriculture has increased because many of Florida's 

 crops can not yet be cultivated or cropped mechanically. Any increase in 

 demand for farm products, such as oranges and grapefruit, creates an increase 

 in the demand for labor and other nonmechanical inputs. The exceptions are 

 the animal industries and some field crops that use mechanization as a substi- 

 tute for labor. 



MAJOR AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS 



Citrus and Other Fruits 



Citrus fruits, the State's main agricultural product, accounts for over 

 30 percent of all farm cash receipts (Greene et al . 1980). Florida is the 

 Nation's largest supplier of oranges and is among the world's largest fruit 

 producers. Other fruits are grapefruit, lemons, limes, avocados, mangos, 

 peaches, and berries. When compared to citrus fruits, other fruit crops are 

 relatively small and few are exported. Most citrus fruit is not marketed 

 fresh as are other fruits, but is processed into frozen concentrate. In 

 1954-78 the cash receipts of citrus crops increased sharply, but total acreage 

 fell. Loss of citrus fruit acreage was due primarily to the conversion of 

 land to phosphate mining and urbanization. 



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