Palm Beach County Agricultural Facts

With an estimated $1.12 billion in total agricultural sales for 2003-04, Palm Beach County leads the State of Florida, all counties east of the Mississippi River, and its one of the ten largest in the United States.

Palm Beach County leads the nation in the production of sugarcane and fresh sweet corn. It leads the State in the production of rice, bell peppers, lettuce, radishes, Chinese vegetables, specialty leaf, and celery.

Palm Beach County agricultural infrastructure includes:

• Five Major Sugar Manufacturing Mills
• One Sugar Refinery
• Fourteen Fresh Vegetable Packinghouses
• 550 Horticultural Nurseries
• Major Hydroponic Pepper Growing Operation
• Rice Processing and Packaging Mill
• Agricultural By-Product Electrical Cogeneration Plant
• Major Sugar and Molasses Port Shipping Facility
• Equestrian Racetrack Training Facility
• World-Famous Polo, Dressage, and Jumpers Stadiums
• Largest county golf course revenue in the state at $664 million
• Largest county landscape and landscape maintenance annual revenue in the state at $450 million
• One of the largest county retail garden center annual sales in the state at $279 million

In 2004, the 493,880 acres dedicated to agriculture represent 39% of the total land mass in the county.

Palm Beach County is third in the State in nursery production.

It leads the State in agricultural wages and salary with over $340 million.