Florida Locavore Overview

Florida Locally Grown Product

There are plenty of seasonal Locavore opportunities to find exactly the fruit, vegetables, beef, lamb, poultry, wine or dairy products that you may be looking for. The 2007 USDA Farm Census reported that Florida had approximately 47,463 farms and the average number of acres per farm was 195. Of those farms, 1,493 showed that they raised vegetables for sale, there were 8,993 orchards, 234 organic farms and 193 CSAs in the state.

Synopsis of 2007 USDA Ag census for Florida

Classification
Number of farms within the State
Top five counties with the greatest number of farms in each type of classification
Farms with Vegetables harvested for sale
1493
MiamiDade Hillsborough Marion Jackson Alachua
Number of Orchards
8993
Polk MiamiDade Hillsborough Lake Hardee
Sweet Corn
385
Jackson Marion Palm Beach Baker Alachua
Potatoes
181
St. Johns Baker Jackson Marion Putnam
Tomatoes
339
MiamiDade Hillsborough Manatee Alachua Walton
Apples
126
Alachua Walton Marion Holmes Jackson
Peaches
145
Marion Alachua Walton Jackson Holmes
Cantaloupe
138
Hillsborough Alachua Jackson Okaloosa Washington
Watermelon
401
Alachua Jackson Levy Gilchrist Marion
Strawberries
212
Hillsborough Alachua DeSoto Lake Bradford
Blueberries
566
Hillsborough Polk Alachua Pasco Marion
Raspberries
18
Holmes Miami Dade Palm Beach Lee Jackson
Blackberries and Dewberries
97
Jackson Alachua Marion Jefferson Nassau
Poultry and egg production
1185
Suwannee Marion Hillsborough Columbia Volusia
Dairy cattle and milk production
210
Lafayette Jackson Suwannee Hillsborough Okeechobee
Beef and Cattle ranches
16819
Hillsborough Marion Polk Alachua Lake
Bison
20
Santa Rosa Columbia Suwannee Polk Duval
Aquaculture or other animal production
8531
Marion Palm Beach Hillsborough Levy Alachua
Farms that collect Honey
571
Hillsborough Lake Miami Dade Polk Alachua

For more specific detail on what local fruits and vegetables are available (and when), please check out our Florida availability guide.

 
How to find Florida Growers and producers

To search our database for growers, producers and wineries near you, use one of these three methods:

1. Go to the Proximity search page. Enter the Zip code that you want to use as the basis for your search, enter the number of miles around the Zip code, click or unclick the business types you want to search for, then click the "Search' button. When the results appear, if you want more information about a specific business, you can click on the map marker and then the farm or business name within the information box.

If you would rather not enter a Zip code, you can enter a City and State name or a County and State name.

2. To see all of the Profiles within a specific State, go to the menu selection entitled "State Information" in the blue menu section at the top of the page. Scroll to your State name and as you move through the State names, you will see two menu choices appear to the right of your cursor. Click on the one that includes the words "Growers and Producers". When the list shows on your screen, you may sort by County name (click on the word "County"). If you are looking for a specific product such as Peaches or Beef or Honey, simply enter your search term in the appropriate box. For the Florida Grower list, click on this link: Florida Grower list .

3. Using the search box in the upper right hand corner of the screen, just enter the terms you wish to search for..there is no need to include a coma. As an example, if you want to find Peach growers in Florida, just type in the words Peaches Florida and click on the Search button.  There is no need to enter connecting words such as "and" or "in".

Additional Florida Locavore information

Every state has a Cooperative Extension System. Regional offices offer location specific advice on a broad array of topics (including gardening), and may be able to provide you with contact information for growers who are not yet registered on our site. Most have gardening hotlines and offer informational fact sheets, soil testing and pest identification for free or a nominal cost. Often the help is provided by Master Gardeners who are trained to assist the agriculture agents with home gardener's needs. To find contact information for your local County Extension Office – Florida County Extension Offices.

  • If you would like to ask questions of fellow Florida Locavores, discuss tips, share recipes, stories, pictures or any another great “Slow Food” discovery, please post it in our Florida forum by clicking here: Florida Locavore Forum
  • State sponsored “Locally Grown” program -   - Fresh From Florida 
  • Florida County Fair Schedules – This link provides schedules for County Fairs within Florida as well as many other local festivals – Florida County Fairs