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Agriculture in Jefferson County

Visit the Jefferson County Cooperative Extension site (http://jefferson.ifas.ufl.edu) for more on agriculture.

Agriculture has traditionally been the leading income source, contributing 17.9% of the county's income (Florida average = 1.8%). Approximately 35% of the county workforce is employed in agriculture, timber and pulpwood industries. Traditional row crops of corn, soybeans, tobacco, and small grains have declined, beginning in the decade of the 80s. Peanuts, tobacco and cotton are grown in minor acreages, with cotton increasing in the mid 90s.. $6-7 million in income is derived annually from dairy, forest products, nursery production and beef. An additional $10-12 million is derived from all other agricultural production: row crops, pecans, watermelons, other fresh market vegetables, swine, other livestock products, etc. Additional employment and incomes are contributed by over a dozen "plantations" of 5-15,000 acres each which are multiple-land-use holdings providing farm land, recreational use, forests and water recharge.  Click here for highlights of Agriculture in Jefferson County from the 1997 Census of Agriculture. Contact the Cooperative Extension Service office by phone or a visit to the offices at 275 North Mulberry in Monticello. Or correspond through e-mail to Jefferson County Extension Service at jefferson@mail.ifas.ufl.edu for information about county crops, livestock, foresty, aquaculture, gardening and nurserystock production. edis Click here for over 3500 bulletins, brochures, and fact sheets from the Extension Digital Information Source - EDIS from the University of Florida IFAS.

Jefferson County Farms, Ranches, Dairies and Nurseries Produce:

Corn Soybeans Peanuts
Cotton Wheat Tobacco
Ornamentals Pecans Watermelons
Sorghum Hay & Pasture Vegetables
Pine Seedlings Pulpwood Saw Timber
Fruit Trees Dairy Products Beef (cattle & calves)
Swine Horses Deer & Venison
Small Grains Catfish Grapes & juice
Goats & Sheep Persimmons Foliage plants
Sport Hunting Sod Flowering plants
Sugar Cane & Syrup Yogurt Christmas trees
Ostrich & Emus
Agriculture Provides Jobs, Incomes and Tax Revenues
Farms Provide Green Space, Water Recharge and Wildlife Habitat
Farmland Provides Recreational Opportunities
Tung, Shade Tobacco and Naval Stores were once Important Farm Commodities in Jefferson County

Selected Statistics for Jefferson County from the Census of Agriculture

  1997 1992 1987 1982 1978 1974 1969 1964
Number of Farms 342 297 296 314 308 283 363 531
Farms with Sales of $20,000 or more 74 85 82 104 95 72 55 35
Farms with Sales of Less than $20,000 268 212 214 210 214 211 308 496
Operators with Principal Farm Employment 126 119 113 119 138 180  
Operators with Principal Non-Farm Employment 216 178 183 195 170 98  
Black Farm Operators 33 26 21 47 44 60 102 257
Female Farm Operators 36 28 26 23 25  
Average Age of Farm Operator 57 57 52 51 51 56 56 54
Land in Farms (Acres) 126590 118352 130376 137431 155833 142747 162298 169645
Average Farm Size (Acres) 370 398 440 438 506 504 447 319
Jefferson County Farms Producing:  
Corn 45 34 54 101 138 162 206 365
Tobacco 3 5 9 15 19 36 73 115
Soybeans 10 5 13 48 38 17 3 2
Peanuts 17 11 14 15 23 25 30 56
Cotton 5 1 4 (na) (na) 1 15 139
Hay & Forage 76 63 52 56 50 26 35  
Vegetables 23 24 30 30 43 21 34 59
Watermelon 14 15 17 26 21  
Orchards (Pecans) 81 95 77 74 70 53 78 156
Nursery Products 37 33 28 27 25  
Cattle & Calves 148 133 153 177 149 160 189 265
Dairy Products 5 4 8 7 9  
Swine 20 22 27 70 84 88 121 297
Total Cropland Acres 33477 37031 45665 55712 50326 46117 62217 76976
Value of Crops Sold ($1,000) $13,970 $10,202 $7,539 $11,219 $7,118 $6,389 $2,244 $2,668
Value of Nursery Products Sold ($1,000) $8,644 $5,840 $3,296 $5,004 $3,221 $2,264 $417 $498
Irrigated Acres 1432 4257 6573 4821 639 1431 509 307
CRP or Wetland Reserve Program (Acres) 5910 4098 1899  
Total Pasture Acres 38628 35808 50186 37366 41375 45102 43422 12180
Total Woodland Acres 46589 50579 58887 55345 64619 66952 72314 74610
Value Livestock/Livestock Pdts Sold ($1,000) $4,080 $10,844 $9,197 $10,493 $10,000 $4,535 $2,736 $1,757
Cattle Inventory 11320 18750 16835 23322 24760 17839 15004 13294
Hog and Pig Inventory 574 2011 3976 4568 6083 3291 4675 5860
Value of Land and Buildings per Farm $498,805 $575,501 $433,835 $427,564 $456,118 $194,099 $77,335 $34,949
Value of Machinery, Equipment per Farm $24,207 $26,932 $23,459 $27,312 $22,855 $16,937 $7,459  
Value of Hired Farm Labor ($1,000) $3,110 $3,222 $3,692 $2,911 $2,305 $1,603 $976 $881
Value of Purchased Livestock Feed ($1,000) $1,022 $3,863 $2,765 $3,795 $2,936 $1,996 $653 $360
Value of Fertilizer Purchased ($1,000) $1,384 $1,351 $1,760 $1,810 $1,249 $1,220 $675 $552
Value of Ag Chemicals Purchased ($1,000) $693 $1,063 $611  
Value of Energy Consumed ($1,000) $710 $975 $1,242 $1,203 $803  
Value of Interest Expenses ($1,000) $997 $821 $1,387 $2,143  
Property Taxes Paid ($1,000) $808 $501 $426  
Total Farm Expenses ($1,000) $12,637 $18,451 $17,598  
Net Cash Returns from Sales (per farm) $7,005 $9,523 $-1,912  
Government Payments Received ($1,000) $351 $467 $825  
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