AgricultureID

State · US-FL

Florida

Florida is humid subtropical (Cfa) across the north and center and tropical savanna (Aw) in the south, with hot, wet summers, mild winters, and a long frost-free season that supports winter production. Periodic frost in the north and center still shapes where cold-sensitive crops are grown.

Major crop systems

  • Citrus — oranges (largely for juice) and grapefruit
  • Sugarcane in the Everglades Agricultural Area
  • Winter fresh-market vegetables (tomatoes, peppers, sweet corn) and strawberries

Major livestock systems

  • Beef cow–calf ranching on improved pasture — among the larger cow herds east of the Mississippi
  • Dairy
  • Poultry

Agricultural land: Sandy flatwoods and the organic muck soils of the Everglades Agricultural Area around Lake Okeechobee support distinctive high-value systems; large areas are also improved pasture for cattle. Irrigation: High-value horticulture is widely irrigated — micro-irrigation on citrus and seepage irrigation on the muck soils of the Everglades Agricultural Area.

Agroecological zones: Cfa (Humid subtropical), Aw (Tropical savanna (dry winter))

Documented crops & livestock

Official institutions

  • Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS) — State department for agriculture, food safety, and consumer services.
  • University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) Extension — Land-grant research and extension for citrus, vegetables, and livestock.
  • USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) — Official state-level crop, livestock, and Census of Agriculture statistics, published through its regional field office network.

Data coverage & limitations

Descriptive profile; subnational statistics for Florida are published by USDA NASS and the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services and are not reproduced numerically here.

  • Boundaries and administrative classification follow the ISO 3166-2 subdivision system and USDA/state reporting units.
  • No subnational statistics are reproduced here; any official figures are dated, versioned, and periodically revised — read them with their year and source.
  • Florida citrus output has fallen sharply since the mid-2000s owing to citrus greening (HLB), disease-management costs, and hurricanes; longstanding rankings can overstate current production.

Agricultural authority

Verified against official government sources. AgricultureID is independent and not affiliated with these bodies.

Soils documented by the official survey

The soil survey maps 482 named soil bodies in Florida, with surface pH from 3.0 to 8.7 and organic matter from 0.1% to 87.5%. The twenty appearing in the most mapped units are shown; each figure is the survey’s representative value for that soil body, not a measurement.

Soil bodies mapped in Florida, with representative surface properties from the official survey
Soil bodypHOrganic matter %Clay %DrainageMap units
BlantonUltisols4.5–5.70.6–2.81.2–7Moderately well drained to Well drained75in 24 survey areas
MyakkaSpodosols4.5–7.50.75–67.51–3Poorly drained to Very poorly drained71in 33 survey areas
TroupUltisols4.8–6.60.5–1.91.9–7Somewhat excessively drained to Well drained60in 20 survey areas
BasingerEntisols4.5–6.50.6–140.4–3.5Poorly drained to Very poorly drained56in 25 survey areas
LakelandEntisols4.6–6.80.75–1.751.9–5Excessively drained56in 18 survey areas
AlbanyUltisols4.1–6.30.8–21–8Somewhat poorly drained54in 30 survey areas
CandlerEntisols4.5–5.70.6–21–55Excessively drained to Well drained53in 16 survey areas
ArentsEntisols5–7.50.25–1.752–21Excessively drained to Well drained50in 36 survey areas
LeonSpodosols3.9–6.52–500–3.9Poorly drained to Very poorly drained50in 24 survey areas
PinedaAlfisols5.3–6.21–3.250.7–7.5Poorly drained to Very poorly drained49in 24 survey areas
PlummerUltisols4–5.81.2–500–4.2Poorly drained to Very poorly drained48in 23 survey areas
WabassoSpodosols4.6–6.12–61–3.5Poorly drained to Very poorly drained48in 28 survey areas
AstatulaEntisols4.5–5.80.32–2.50.4–2Excessively drained47in 18 survey areas
FeldaAlfisols5.3–72–151–3Poorly drained to Very poorly drained47in 16 survey areas
ImmokaleeSpodosols4–6.51.42–3.081–3Poorly drained to Very poorly drained46in 32 survey areas
MalabarAlfisols5.3–71.5–30.9–2Poorly drained to Very poorly drained46in 22 survey areas
PamlicoHistosols—40–800Very poorly drained45in 25 survey areas
PompanoEntisols5.2–6.32–51–5Poorly drained to Very poorly drained44in 26 survey areas
OrangeburgUltisols5.1–6.10.62–35.5–15Well drained43in 12 survey areas
ChobeeMollisols5.8–7.63–755–18Very poorly drained42in 23 survey areas

These values describe soil bodies a survey has mapped, not samples taken in a particular field. A measurement on one farm may differ from the representative value of the map unit containing it.

AgricultureID does not infer crop suitability from soil observations. That a crop is grown where a soil occurs is not evidence that the soil suits it, and no such link is published without a source that makes it. How these observations are recorded.

Climate and drought

Drought assessment, week of 2026-08-25

assessment

67.2% of Florida’s land area was assessed as being in drought (D1 or worse) for the week of 2026-08-25 to 2026-08-31.

No category
8.8%
D0 · not drought
24.1%
D1
27.1%
D2
30.4%
D3
9.7%
D4
0.0%

D0 is abnormally dry and is counted separately: the Drought Monitor treats it as a precursor to drought and a category areas pass through while recovering.

The Drought Monitor is drawn each week by an author who weighs several indicators together with reports from local observers. It is an assessment of conditions, not an instrument reading, and each map applies to one week.

Climate normals, 1991–2020

normal

18 stations in Florida publish a full-standard 1991–2020 normal. Each describes its own site; none is an average for the state.

StationMean tempPrecipitationDays ≤ 32°F
ARCHBOLD BIO STN, FL US72.9°F54.23 in9.2
BRADENTON 5 ESE, FL US74.1°F56.28 in1.0
DAYTONA BEACH INTL AP, FL US71.5°F51.25 in3.0
FT LAUDERDALE, FL US75.9°F68.77 in0.0
JACKSONVILLE, FL US69.3°F53.40 in14.3
JASPER, FL US66.3°F52.64 in30.8
MELBOURNE WFO, FL US72.9°F55.28 in2.2
OASIS RS, FL US76.4°F60.37 in0.6

Eight of 18 stations shown.

A climate normal is what 1991–2020 averaged to at that station. It is not what any year was and not what any year will be; a season that matches it is ordinary, not forecast.

How these figures are produced, and what they do not say

Sources

This article draws on the following authoritative sources. See our sources & methodology for how they are selected.

  1. [1]USDA NASS — National Agricultural Statistics Service (opens in a new tab)

    USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS)

    Authoritative

    Cited for: Official state agricultural statistics

    Type:
    Government agency
    Jurisdiction:
    United States
    Accessed:
    2026-07-12
  2. [2]USDA — U.S. Department of Agriculture (opens in a new tab)

    United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)

    Authoritative

    Cited for: Federal agricultural context

    Type:
    Government agency
    Jurisdiction:
    United States
    Accessed:
    2026-07-12