”Fresh From Florida” exports reach all-time high

Apr 14, 2015

2014 marked third consecutive year with over $4 billion in exports

Adam H. Putnam, Florida’s Commissioner of Agriculture recently announced a milestone for exports falling under the “Fresh From Florida” banner.

Last year, Florida’s agricultural exports reached an all-time economic high of $4.2 billion. 2014 also marked the third year in a row in which ag-exports from the Sunshine State surpassed the $4 billion mark.

“International demand continues to rise for ‘Fresh From Florida' fruits, vegetables and other commodities, and we reached an all-time high in 2014,” said Commissioner of Agriculture Adam H. Putnam in a release. “Our export successes support more than 109,000 Florida jobs and have an economic impact of more than $13 billion.”

Products from Florida continue to be popular as 159 countries received ag-related products from them. Canada accounted for nearly a quarter of exports while Bahamas, the Dominican Republic, Mexico and South Korea were among the other markets interested in Florida’s agricultural products.

The 2015 report “Fresh From Florida” outlined the specifics of how successful the ag-industry performed in 2014 and what some of the leading commodities were in the state.

Here are some highlights:

As a whole, Florida ranked 8^th in the United States in agricultural exports.
The leading export category was meat with an export value of more than $625 million.
The two months where Florida exported the most ag-related goods were March ($380 million) and November ($381 million). The lowest was August ($300 million)
Florida exported $917 million worth of ag-commodities to Canada.
The two fastest growing commodities for export were bird eggs and purebred breeding cattle.

Join the conversation and tell us what you think these numbers mean for agriculture throughout the United States. If you’re a Florida farmer, how encouraged are you by these stats and how will you try and maintain this kind of momentum?

Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.