Agriculture plays a major role in the history and economy of the American state of Florida. Florida's relatively warm climate gives it a competitive position for many markets in the United States. Florida once produced the majority of citrus fruit grown in the United States and is particularly well known for its oranges which are primarily processed into orange juice, however California produces more citrus than Florida today, with Florida accounting for only 17% of the US crop in 2024. Bell peppers, tomatoes, sugarcane, peaches, strawberries, and watermelons are also important crops. Florida produces a small amount of grape wine.

Labor issues have been a part of the industry since colonization with a history of first slave and then exploited labor. The agricultural industry is a major water user in Florida and overall the industry has a significant impact on Florida's environment including the Everglades.

Major Crops Citrus

Although citrus cultivation began there in the 1500s, commercial scale production was only attempted in the 1920s. At first this went badly due to severe pest and disease epidemics, which were themselves due to poor understanding of the local climate and terrain. During World War II, American soldiers rejected vitamin C-packed lemon crystals because of their unappetizing taste. Thus the US government searched for a food that would fulfill the nutritional needs of the soldiers, have a desirable taste, and prevent diseases such as scurvy. The US federal government and the Florida Department of Citrus worked with a group of scientists to develop a product superior to the canned orange juice available in the 1940s. The result was frozen concentrated orange juice; this was not until three years after the war had ended.

By 1949, orange juice processing plants in Florida were producing over 10 million gallons of concentrated orange juice. Consumers liked concentrated canned orange juice as it was affordable, tasty, convenient, and high in vitamin C. The preparation was simple: empty the container of frozen concentrate into a measured volume of water and stir. However, by the 1980s, food scientists developed a fresher-tasting juice known as reconstituted ready-to-serve juice. Eventually in the 1990s, "not from concentrate" (NFC) orange juice was developed. Orange juice is a common breakfast beverage in the United States.

Due to the importance of oranges to the economy of Florida, "the juice obtained from mature oranges of the species Citrus sinensis and hybrids thereof" was adopted as the official beverage of Florida in 1967.

The kumquat was introduced to Florida in the late 1800s. The most common variety of kumquat planted in Florida is the Nagami. Dade City hosts the annual Kumquat Festival. The festival features kumquat pie, a specialty of Pasco County where Dade City is located.

As of July 2025, oranges make up 88% of Florida's citrus production, followed by 9% for grapefruit and 3% for tangerines and mandarins. For 2018, 10.9% of all cash receipts were citruses. In 2006, 67% of all citrus, 74% of oranges, 58% of tangerines, and 54% of grapefruit were grown in Florida. About 95% of commercial orange production in the state is destined for processing (mostly as orange juice, the official state beverage). The top 5 citrus-producing counties, according to data in 2019, was "DeSoto (12.8 million boxes), Polk (12.5 million boxes), Highlands (10.8 million boxes), Hendry (10.5 million boxes) and Hardee (8.16 million boxes)", according to Florida Agriculture by the Numbers. Together they contribute 71% of Florida's total citrus production. The Central produced the most citrus, followed by the Western area and the Southern areas. International citrus fresh fruit exports totaled to "2.05 million 4/5 bushel cartons", and Japan received the majority of the grapefruit exports. Canada received most of Florida's orange and tangerine exports. Florida Agriculture by the Numbers reports "4.70 million gallons of Frozen Concentrated Orange Juice (FCOJ), and 0.38 million gallons of Frozen Concentrated Grapefruit Juice (FCGJ) was exported in the 2018–2019 season".

In 2024, 231,000 acres of oranges were harvested in Florida with a total value of $240.6 million with production going to processing (729,000 tons) and the rest to fresh markets (79,000 tons).

Mangoes

Florida is the largest mango producer in the United States. The first commercial mango orchard in Florida was planted in 1833. In the 20th century Mango growing and breeding was a hobby of wealthy men in South Florida including Henry Ford and Thomas Edison.

Peach Peaches have probably been grown here since the 1500s, brought by the Spanish. By the late 1700s an export trade had developed with the mid-Atlantic states, with Baltimore the first hub to distribute Florida peaches into the surrounding region. Similar to the strawberry tool above, a cut-down SNP array for genomic selection has been adapted by the University of Florida for peaches.

Peach is a growing crop due to citrus greening. Florida produces far less than the leading state, California, but has the advantage of an earlier season than any other in the country. The harvest season runs from late March to late May or early June depending on the year's weather. Due to increasing pest and disease pressure with increasing rainfall here, yield declines rapidly in the summer and profitable harvest ends for the year. This combined with competitor states coming into season means that late-bearing cultivars are commercially nonviable here.

Strawberry

Strawberry is a major fruit crop in Florida. Florida is second only to California for strawberry production by volume and by dollars per year and the Plant City area grows of America's winter strawberries. The represents growers here. Strawberry gray mold is economically important. This is the Botrytis Fruit Rot of strawberries caused by Botrytis cinerea. Growers here ship strawberries December to April. The state's Strawberry Festival is held in March every year in Plant City. Anthracnose is a common disease of this crop. The University of Florida operates one of the most important strawberry demonstration breeding programs in North America. was developed partly from the experience of this program with the need to combine desirable strawberry qualities with resistance, an integral part of the program for Rosaceae in America. They adapted Axiom's 90k SNP array to a more economical 35k for genomic selection in the program. Molecular breeding has improved greatly in the few years and the rapid generation cycle of strawberry also helps to speed up breeding. This program bred Phytophthora cactorum root rot resistance into their new cv. '', and for an even better example, they were able to pyramid together three disease resistance traits, to various Xanthomonas, Phytophthora, and Colletotrichum, into another cultivar. Marker-assisted parental selection (MAPS) and marker-assisted seedling selection (MASS) are now targeting for fruit and crown rot, for crown rot, for root and crown rot, and for bacterial angular leaf spot. Molecular breeding is usually suitable for monogenic traits, while polygenics are handled by genome-wide analysis. Genomics proved better than pedigree records for predicting actually results. These results lead the program to combine both genomic and locus-specific testing for their routine breeding. (Mycosphaerella fragariae/Ramularia tulasnei, Ramularia or Ramularia Leaf Spot) is common here.

cv. 'Camino Real' is unusually vulnerable to Botrytis Fruit Rot in the conditions around the University of Florida's Gulf Coast Research and Education Center in Dover. Chandler et al., 2006 finds 'CR' is the worst among several common varieties, although '' can be close. It is possible that the Botrytis problem in 'CR' could be remedied with different fungicide timing.

cv. '' was developed at the University of Florida. Chandler et al., 2006 finds 'SC' is consistently somewhat susceptible to Botrytis Fruit Rot,

The varieties '', '' (not to be confused with the Florida Strawberry Festival), and 'Florida Beauty' are among the most commonly grown here. 'FR' is higher yielding in real producer conditions in the state than 'SF'.

Although disease resistance is an economically important trait in this crop, there is insufficient study of growers' willingness to pay. What little information is available suggests that it is low. Unsurprisingly there is even less interest in resistance on the consumer side, due to lack of understanding.

In 2024, Florida harvested 16,200 acres of strawberries, producing 3.32 million hundredweight (cwt) at a yield of 205 cwt/acre. The average price being $165 per cwt, strawberries generated around $540 million rising up to being the highest-value fruit crop in Florida.

Tomatoes

The state is No. 1 in . Harvest is almost year-round, from October to June. The highest temperatures of the summer from July to September end profitable yield and even the heat of June and October limit productivity, such that April to May and November to January are the largest harvests of the year.

Florida planted 24,000 acres of tomatoes in 2024 and harvested 23,200 acres yielding 6.38 million cwt. The average price being $52.40 per cwt leading to total production value amounting $331 million.

Sugarcane

The state is the country's largest producer of sugarcane, which is primarily processed into sugar.

The sugarcane industry in Florida began in the 1760s during the British colonial period. Florida's sugarcane production expanded significantly after the United States ceased importing sugar from Cuba in 1960.

Most of the sugarcane is produced in organic soils along the southern and southeastern shore of Lake Okeechobee in Southern Florida, where the growing season is long and winters are generally warm.

Other crops

The largest farm category by sales in Florida is the $2.3billion ornamental industry, which includes nursery, greenhouse, flower, and sod products.

Other products include tomatoes and celery. The state is the largest producer of sweet corn and green beans for the U.S.

The state has a near monopoly on saw palmetto berries, an alternative medicine said to treat prostate and urinary disorders.

Okra Much of the in the United States is grown here, especially around Dade County. Okra is grown throughout the state to some degree however and so okra is available ten months of the year here. Yields range from less than to over . Wholesale prices can go as high as $18/bushel which is . The Regional IPM Centers provide integrated pest management plans specifically for the southern part of the state.

Persimmon California and Florida account for most commercial persimmon production in the United States. The first commercial orchards in Florida were planted in the 1870s and production peaked in the 1990s before declining. Most persimmon orchards in the US are small scale (70% less than and 90% less than ).

Wine grapes

Livestock Cattle Historical

Aquaculture

The earliest known aquaculture in Florida was practiced by the Calusa kingdom. In the late 20th century, the wild fishery of whiteleg shrimp was overtaken by the development of aquaculture production; this began in 1973 in Florida using shrimp captured in Panama, that were used in hatcheries for larvae production.

Florida's clam aquaculture industry is centered on Cedar Key with 90% of production taking place there. The industry is negatively impacted by storms and hurricanes.

Oysters are raised on oyster farms in Florida's coastal waters including the Indian River Lagoon.