Florida's economy had been characterized by growth since World War II. The dramatic increase in the state's population, from slightly less than 3 million in 1950 to almost 13 million in 1990, has been largely responsible for this growth. For years, however, Florida's geographical position of the peninsula on the southeastern edge of the continental United States, removed from population centers contributed to an image of the state as part of the national frontier. At the beginning of the twentieth century, Florida's economy was still relatively weak and its population small. The economy was primarily based on agriculture and forestry. The completion of an efficient railroad link between the state and the rest of the nation in the 1890s began to stimulate many sectors of the economy, including tourism, citrus and vegetable production, forestry, and mining.
During the twentieth century, many social and technological changes occurred in the United States. Several of these changes contributed to the population and economic growth of Florida. The most significant change was a new national prosperity. Increased income enabled many Americans to buy agricultural products, such as citrus fruits and winter vegetables, grown in Florida; to visit the state during vacations; and to choose it as a place for retirement. The United States also developed a transportation system capable of delivering both people and goods long distances easily and economically. This system further reduced Florida's isolation from the rest of the nation. In addition, widespread use of air conditioning had an enormous impact upon Florida's economy, making its long summers more bearable.
Florida's leading economic activities, in order of earned income, are services, government, retailÊtrade, manufacturing, construction, finance, and transportation. NonwageÊsourcesÊofÊincome are also vital to the state's economy. Florida citizens, since so many are retired, receive a higher proportion of their personal income from transferÊpayments (for example, socialÊsecurity), dividends, interest, and rent than citizens of any other state.
Agriculture
Florida normally leads the southeastern states in valueÊofÊfarmÊsales and is in the top ten in the nation. The state's climate is hot and humid and its soils are generally low in fertility. As a result, Florida's agriculture is energy intensive, requiring applications of large amounts of herbicides, pesticides, and fertilizers. Although the state usually receives abundant rainfall, rain does not always arrive at the right time of year for crops. Many farms, particularly in southern Florida, have elaborate irrigation systems. Its agriculture produces far higher sales per acre than most states, since much land is devoted to vegetables, citrus, and nursery plants.
Citrus accounts for almost one quarter of all agricultural sales. Of all the varieties of citrus, oranges account for the majority of total sales (79 percent), with grapefruit a distant second with 17 percent of total sales. Florida's oranges are particularly well suited for orange juice concentrate, and much of the nation's orange juice concentrate is processed in the state. Freezes during the 1980s wiped out production on hundreds of thousands of acres of groves in central Florida, necessitating expansion of the citrus region into the poorly drained area west of Lake Okeechobee, as well as importation of orange juice concentrate from Brazil. Yields in the southern part of the peninsula are often lower than in the central peninsula, but killing freezes are less likely.
Florida's total acreage, production and value of fresh market vegetables is exceeded only by California. Florida ranked high among the states in production of a number of vegetables, including fresh snap beans, cabbage, sweet corn, cucumbers, eggplant, sweet peppers, and celery. The state's special advantage is its ability to produce fresh vegetables for northern markets during the winter and spring. Since the 1970s, however, Florida's winter vegetable industry has faced stiff foreign competition, notably from Mexico. In the summer, high temperatures preclude the production of many vegetables. Sugarcane became a major crop in Florida only after the United States severed trade relations with Cuba in 1961. By 1980, sugarcane had become the leading product in dollar value of farm sales among the state's field crops. Almost half of all sugarcane produced in the United States is raised in Florida, almost all on organic soils along the south shore of Lake Okeechobee.
Florida has one of the fastest growing ornamentalÊhorticulture industries in the country. The demand within the state from new residents partially accounts for this growth. A national market for its nursery plants developed because Florida's climate permits many tender ornamentals to be grown outside year-round, whereas farther north expensive greenhouses must be used.
Florida's beef cattle industry has grown to national importance, and among southeastern states it is only exceeded by Kentucky. The industry began to grow rapidly only after World War II, when higher beef prices made ranchers more enthusiastic about applying advances in cattle parasite control, animal breeding and pasture improvement. The state has specialized in the sale of yearly stock to feeder lots, mainly on the Great Plains. The dairy cattle industry also contributes to the state's economy, and through most of the year meets the milk demands of the state. Although in recent years the number of dairy cows has decreased, overall production has been maintained because of increased productivity per cow as a result of improved breeding and management.
Forestry
Florida's forests provided one of its first products to reach the national market. Even before the Civil War, steam-powered circular saws were cutting softwood lumber, primarily in northern Florida. In addition, pine was tapped for turpentineÊandÊrosin (naval stores). In time, lumber and naval stores production declined in relative importance, but during the twentieth century the development of a process to turn pine into pulp for both cellulose and paper gave the forests a new significance. Because pine matures far more quickly in the South than the North and because land on the southern coastal plain was relatively cheap, pulp and paper companies built mills and bought large areas of land in the South during the 1920s and 1930s. In 1990, Florida had more land in corporate tree farms than any other state except Georgia.
Mineral Production
Florida has a known reserve of phosphate rock, which is primarily used for fertilizer, that is greater in value than that of any other mineral. In terms of sales, Florida produces most of the nation's phosphate, much of which is exported. Although phosphate sales are important to the state's economy, phosphate mining has also resulted in a number of environmental problems, which the industry and state and local governments are working together to solve. These include landÊreclamation, heavy water usage, ponding of slurry, and the possibility of radiation problems in mined-out sites. Increasingly, the industry must also meet foreign competition.
By 1990, the value of petroleum produced in the state had fallen far below that of phosphate, although in 1980, the two were almost equal. There are two areas of petroleum production in the state: one in the southwest, the other in the northwest. The Jay Field in northwest Florida is the most important. Discovered in 1970, its reserves have almost been depleted. Oil companies have engaged in intensive exploration for petroleum off Florida's Gulf coast since the early 1970s. Exploration continues although no discoveries have been made.
Fishing
Florida has a well developed commercialÊfishing industry. Its future, however, is threatened by the overfishing of the relatively few commercial species and by foreign competition. Shrimp is the most valuable species caught, accounting for over 40 percent of total sales, followed by lobster, crab, and snapper. Most shrimp are now caught off the Tortug
