The economy of the state of Florida is the fourth-largest in the United States, with a $1.3trillion

gross state product Gross regional domestic product (GRDP), gross domestic product of region (GDPR), or gross state product (GSP) is a statistic that measures the size of a region's economy. It is the aggregate of gross value added (GVA) of all resident producer unit ...

(GSP) as of 2021. If

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

were a sovereign nation (2021), it would rank as the world's 16th-largest economy according to the

International Monetary Fund The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is a major financial agency of the United Nations, and an international financial institution, headquartered in Washington, D.C., consisting of 190 countries. Its stated mission is "working to foster globa ...

, ahead of Indonesia and behind Mexico.https://www.bea.gov/sites/default/files/2021-06/qgdpstate0621.pdf Bureau of Economic Analysis – Full release and tables – Gross Domestic Product by State, 1st Quarter 2021. Retrieved July 4, 2021. Agriculture, tourism, industry, construction, international banking, biomedical and life sciences, healthcare research, simulation training, aerospace and defense, and commercial space travel contribute to the state's economy.

Overview

Florida's economy ranks among the largest in the world. As of 2021, the

(GSP) is about $1.2trillion, the fourth largest economy in the United States. Florida is responsible for 5.23% of the United States' approximately $21trillion gross domestic product (GDP). , Florida's nominal GDP is larger than all but 15 countries; if it were a sovereign nation, it would be ranked ahead of Indonesia and behind Mexico. In terms of

Purchasing Power Parity Purchasing power parity (PPP) is the measurement of prices in different countries that uses the prices of specific goods to compare the absolute purchasing power of the countries' currency, currencies. PPP is effectively the ratio of the price of ...

, it is larger than all but 24 countries. Agriculture, tourism, industry, construction, international banking, biomedical and life sciences, healthcare research, simulation training, aerospace and defense, and commercial space travel contribute to the state's economy. The five largest sectors of employment in Florida are: trade, transportation, and utilities; government; professional and business services; education and health services; and leisure and hospitality. In output, the five largest sectors are: finance, insurance, real estate, rental, and leasing, followed by professional and business services; government and government enterprises; educational services, health care, and social assistance; and retail trade. In 2017, Florida became the United States' eighth largest exporter of trade goods. Florida's top countries for export are Brazil, Canada, Mexico, Germany, and Colombia. In 2017, Florida became the United States' tenth largest importer of trade goods. Florida imported US$75.4billion worth of goods globally in 2017. The value of Florida's imports equals 3.2% of United States' overall imported products for 2017. Florida's top countries for imports are China, Mexico, Canada, Germany, and France. The

Miami Metropolitan Area The Miami metropolitan area (also known as Greater Miami, the Tri-County Area, South Florida, or the Gold Coast) is the ninth largest metropolitan statistical area in the United States and the 34th largest metropolitan area in the world with a ...

has the highest GDP of all the metro areas in Florida with $344.9billion in 2017. This is more than twice the number of the next metro area, the

Tampa Bay Area The Tampa Bay area is a major populated area surrounding Tampa Bay on the west coast of Florida in the United States. It includes the main cities of Tampa, St. Petersburg, and Clearwater. It is the 18th largest metropolitan area in the United St ...

, which has a GDP of $145.3billion. The economy of Florida is driven almost entirely by its nineteen metropolitan areas. In 2004, they had a combined total of 95.7% of the state's domestic product.

Per capita GDP Gross domestic product (GDP) is a monetary measure of the market value of all the final goods and services produced and sold (not resold) in a specific time period by countries. Due to its complex and subjective nature this measure is ofte ...

in 2017 was $39,842, ranking 40th in the nation.

Per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...

varies widely by geographic region and profession.

North Florida North Florida is a region of the U.S. state of Florida comprising the northernmost part of the state. Along with South Florida and Central Florida, it is one of Florida's three most common "directional" regions. It includes Jacksonville and near ...

and the rural counties of the

Florida Panhandle The Florida Panhandle (also West Florida and Northwest Florida) is the northwestern part of the U.S. state of Florida; it is a Salient (geography), salient roughly long and wide, lying between Alabama on the north and the west, Georgia (U. ...

are the most impoverished in the state. Florida has a

poverty rate Poverty is the state of having few material possessions or little

income

of 14.0%, the seventeenth lowest of any state in the country. Many coastal cities include some of the wealthiest per-capita areas in the United States. In 2018, there were more than 427,824millionaires in the state, the fourth-highest number in the nation. For 2018–19, the approved state budget is $88.7billion, a 4.4% increase over the previous 2017–18 budget of $84.9billion. ''Chief Executive Magazine'' named Florida the third "Best State for Business" in 2011. In 2022, as job numbers continue to surge, Florida's unemployment rate dipped to 2.7 percent in July which hit historic low.

Personal income

In 2017, Florida's per capita personal income was $47,684, ranking 26th in the nation. The state's unemployment rate in September 2018 was 3.5% and ranked as the 18th lowest in the United States. Florida is one of seven states that does not impose a personal

income tax An income tax is a tax imposed on individuals or entities (taxpayers) in respect of the income or profits earned by them (commonly called taxable income). Income tax generally is computed as the product of a tax rate times the taxable income. Tax ...

. In 2017, Florida had a personal income of $1,000,624,065,000. This personal income ranked 4th in the United States. Florida's constitution establishes a state

minimum wage A minimum wage is the lowest remuneration that employers can legally pay their employees—the price floor below which employees may not sell their labor. Most countries had introduced minimum wage legislation by the end of the 20th century. Bec ...

, which is adjusted annually for inflation. , Florida's minimum wage was $6.98 for ''tipped positions'', and $10.00 for ''non-tipped'' positions, which was higher than the federal rate of $7.25. The wage will increase by $1 per hour yearly, until 2026 when the minimum wage for non-tipped positions will reach $15 per hour. Florida has two cities in the top 25 cities in the U.S. with the highest average credit card debt,

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...

and

Tampa Tampa () is a city on the Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and the seat of Hillsborough County ...

. The poverty rate in Florida in 2018 was 14%, down from a peak of 17.1% in 2012.

Sectors

Agriculture

Agriculture is the second largest industry in the state. Florida was ranked in 2019, "first in the value of production for fresh market

bell pepper The bell pepper (also known as paprika, sweet pepper, pepper, or capsicum ) is the fruit of plants in the Grossum Group of the species ''Capsicum annuum''. Cultivars of the plant produce fruits in different colors, including red, yellow, orange ...

s and

tomato The tomato is the edible berry of the plant ''Solanum lycopersicum'', commonly known as the tomato plant. The species originated in western South America, Mexico, and Central America. The Mexican Nahuatl word gave rise to the Spanish word ...

es, as well as

grapefruit The grapefruit (''Citrus'' × ''paradisi'') is a subtropical citrus tree known for its relatively large, sour to semi-sweet, somewhat bitter fruit. The interior flesh is segmented and varies in color from pale yellow to dark pink. Grapefruit is ...

oranges An orange is a fruit of various citrus species in the family Rutaceae (see list of plants known as orange); it primarily refers to ''Citrus'' × ''sinensis'', which is also called sweet orange, to distinguish it from the related ''Citrus × ...

sugarcane Sugarcane or sugar cane is a species of (often hybrid) tall, Perennial plant, perennial grass (in the genus ''Saccharum'', tribe Andropogoneae) that is used for sugar Sugar industry, production. The plants are 2–6 m (6–20 ft) tall with ...

, and

watermelon Watermelon (''Citrullus lanatus'') is a flowering plant species of the Cucurbitaceae family and the name of its edible fruit. A scrambling and trailing vine-like plant, it is a highly cultivated fruit worldwide, with more than 1,000 varieti ...

s" in the United States according to ''Florida Agriculture by the Numbers''. In 2002 peppers and tomatoes were #1 and #2 in dollar value for the state and

citrus fruit ''Citrus'' is a genus of flowering trees and shrubs in the rue family, Rutaceae. Plants in the genus produce citrus fruits, including important crops such as oranges, lemons, grapefruits, pomelos, and limes. The genus ''Citrus'' is native to So ...

, especially oranges, were also a major part of the economy. By 2019 tomatoes were #1, oranges #2, and peppers were #3. Of exports, meat is Florida's biggest earner. Florida produces the majority of citrus fruit grown in the United States.

Strawberry

Strawberry The garden strawberry (or simply strawberry; ''Fragaria × ananassa'') is a widely grown hybrid species of the genus '' Fragaria'', collectively known as the strawberries, which are cultivated worldwide for their fruit. The fruit is widely ap ...

is another major

crop A crop is a plant that can be grown and harvested extensively for profit or subsistence. When the plants of the same kind are cultivated at one place on a large scale, it is called a crop. Most crops are cultivated in agriculture or hydroponic ...

here. Florida is second only to California for strawberry production by volume and by dollars per year and the

Plant City Plant City is an incorporated city in Hillsborough County, Florida, United States, approximately midway between Brandon and Lakeland along Interstate 4. The population was 39,764 at the 2020 census. Despite many thinking it was named for flora ...

area grows of America's ''winter'' strawberries. The represents growers here. Strawberry gray mold is economically important. This is the Botrytis Fruit Rot of strawberries caused by ''Botrytis cinerea''. (See '.) Growers here ship strawberries December to April. The state's Strawberry Festival is held in March every year in Plant City. Anthracnose is a common disease of this crop, see . The

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida, traces its origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its ...

operates one of the most important strawberry demonstration breeding programs in North America. was developed partly from the experience of this program with the need to combine desirable strawberry qualities with resistance, an integral part of the program for

Rosaceae Rosaceae (), the rose family, is a medium-sized family of flowering plants that includes 4,828 known species in 91 genera. The name is derived from the type genus ''Rosa''. Among the most species-rich genera are ''Alchemilla'' (270), ''Sorbus ...

in America. They adapted

Axiom An axiom, postulate, or assumption is a statement that is taken to be true, to serve as a premise or starting point for further reasoning and arguments. The word comes from the Ancient Greek word (), meaning 'that which is thought worthy or f ...

's 90k

SNP array In molecular biology, SNP array is a type of DNA microarray which is used to detect polymorphisms within a population. A single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP), a variation at a single site in DNA, is the most frequent type of variation in the geno ...

to a more economical 35k for

genomic selection Genomic Selection (GS) predicts the breeding values of an offspring in a population by associating their traits (i.e. resistance to pests) with their high-density genetic marker scores. GS is a method proposed to address deficiencies of marker-assis ...

in the program.

Molecular breeding Molecular breeding is the application of molecular biology tools, often in plant breedingVoosen P (2009Molecular Breeding Makes Crops Hardier and More Nutritious Markers, knockouts and other technical advances improve breeding without modifying gen ...

has improved greatly in the few years and the rapid generation cycle of strawberry also helps to speed up

breeding Breeding is sexual reproduction that produces offspring, usually animals or plants. It can only occur between a male and a female animal or plant. Breeding may refer to: * Animal husbandry, through selected specimens such as dogs, horses, and rab ...

. This program bred ''

Phytophthora cactorum ''Phytophthora cactorum'' is a fungal-like plant pathogen belonging to the Oomycota phylum. It is the causal agent of root rot on rhododendron and many other species, as well as leather rot of strawberries. . Hosts, symptoms, and diagnosis ''Phy ...

'' root rot resistance into their new cv. '', and for an even better example, they were able to

pyramid A pyramid (from el, πυραμίς ') is a structure whose outer surfaces are triangular and converge to a single step at the top, making the shape roughly a pyramid in the geometric sense. The base of a pyramid can be trilateral, quadrilat ...

together three

disease resistance Disease resistance is the ability to prevent or reduce the presence of diseases in otherwise susceptible hosts. It can arise from genetic or environmental factors, such as incomplete penetrance. Disease tolerance is different as it is the ability o ...

traits, to various ''

Xanthomonas ''Xanthomonas'' (from greek: ''xanthos'' – “yellow”; ''monas'' – “entity”) is a genus of bacteria, many of which cause plant diseases. There are at least 27 plant associated ''Xanthomonas spp.'', that all together infect at least 400 ...

'', ''

Phytophthora ''Phytophthora'' (from Greek language, Greek (''phytón''), "plant" and (), "destruction"; "the plant-destroyer") is a genus of plant-damaging oomycetes (water molds), whose member species are capable of causing enormous economic losses on cro ...

'', and ''

Colletotrichum ''Colletotrichum'' (sexual stage: ''Glomerella'') is a genus of fungi that are symbionts to plants as endophytes (living within the plant) or phytopathogens. Many of the species in this genus are plant pathogens, but some species may have a mutu ...

'', into another

cultivar A cultivar is a type of cultivated plant that people have selected for desired traits and when propagated retain those traits. Methods used to propagate cultivars include: division, root and stem cuttings, offsets, grafting, tissue culture, ...

. Marker-assisted parental selection (MAPS) and marker-assisted seedling selection (MASS) are now targeting ' for fruit and crown rot, ' for

crown rot A crown is a traditional form of head adornment, or hat, worn by monarchs as a symbol of their power and dignity. A crown is often, by extension, a symbol of the monarch's government or items endorsed by it. The word itself is used, partic ...

, ' for root and crown rot, and for bacterial angular leaf spot. Molecular breeding is usually suitable for

monogenic trait A phenotypic trait, simply trait, or character state is a distinct variant of a phenotype, phenotypic characteristic of an organism; it may be either heredity, inherited or determined environmentally, but typically occurs as a combination of the ...

s, while

polygenic A polygene is a member of a group of non-epistatic genes that interact additively to influence a phenotypic trait, thus contributing to multiple-gene inheritance (polygenic inheritance, multigenic inheritance, quantitative inheritance), a type of ...

s are handled by genome-wide analysis. Genomics proved better than pedigree records for predicting actually results. These results lead the program to combine both genomic and

locus Locus (plural loci) is Latin for "place". It may refer to: Entertainment * Locus (comics), a Marvel Comics mutant villainess, a member of the Mutant Liberation Front * ''Locus'' (magazine), science fiction and fantasy magazine ** ''Locus Award' ...

-specific testing for their routine breeding. (''

Mycosphaerella fragariae Common spot of strawberry is one of the most common and widespread diseases afflicting the strawberry The garden strawberry (or simply strawberry; ''Fragaria × ananassa'') is a widely grown hybrid species of the genus '' Fragaria'', col ...

''/''Ramularia tulasnei'', Ramularia or Ramularia Leaf Spot) is common here. cv. ' Camino Real' is unusually vulnerable to Botrytis Fruit Rot in the conditions around the

's Gulf Coast Research and Education Center in

Dover Dover () is a town and major ferry port in Kent, South East England. It faces France across the Strait of Dover, the narrowest part of the English Channel at from Cap Gris Nez in France. It lies south-east of Canterbury and east of Maidstone ...

. Chandler ''et al.'', 2006 finds 'CR' is the worst among several common varieties, although '' can be close. It is possible that the Botrytis problem in 'CR' could be remedied with different

fungicide Fungicides are biocidal chemical compounds or biological organisms used to kill parasitic fungi or their spores. A fungistatic inhibits their growth. Fungi can cause serious damage in agriculture, resulting in critical losses of yield, quality, ...

timing. (See also .) cv. '' was developed at U Fla. Chandler ''et al.'', 2006 finds 'SC' is consistently somewhat susceptible to Botrytis Fruit Rot, see also . The varieties '', '' (not to be confused with the

Florida Strawberry Festival The Florida Strawberry Festival is an annual event taking place in Plant City, Florida. The festival lasts 11 days and generates attendance of about half a million patrons from all across Central Florida and other areas. The festival is conside ...

), and 'Florida Beauty' are among the most commonly grown here. 'FR' is higher yielding in real producer conditions in the state than 'SF'. Although

is an economically important trait in this crop, there is insufficient study of growers'

Willingness to pay In behavioral economics, willingness to pay (WTP) is the maximum price at or below which a consumer will definitely buy one unit of a product.Varian, Hal R. (1992), Microeconomic Analysis, Vol. 3. New York: W.W. Norton. This corresponds to the st ...

. What little information is available suggests that it is low. Unsurprisingly there is even less interest in resistance on the consumer side, due to lack of understanding.

Peach

Peach The peach (''Prunus persica'') is a deciduous tree first domesticated and cultivated in Zhejiang province of Eastern China. It bears edible juicy fruits with various characteristics, most called peaches and others (the glossy-skinned, non-fu ...

es have probably been grown here since the 1500s, brought by the Spanish. By the late 1700s an export trade had developed with the mid-Atlantic states, with

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

the first hub to distribute Florida peaches into the surrounding region. Similar to the strawberry tool above, a cut-down

for

has been adapted by

for peach. Peach is a growing crop due to

citrus greening Citrus greening disease (; or HLB) is a disease of citrus caused by a vector-transmitted pathogen. The causative agents are motile bacteria, '' Liberibacter'' spp. The disease is vectored and transmitted by the Asian citrus psyllid, '' Diaphorin ...

. Florida produces far less than the leading state, California, but has the advantage of an earlier season than any other in the country. The harvest season runs from late March to late May or early June depending on the year's weather. Due to increasing pest and disease pressure with increasing rainfall here, yield declines rapidly in the summer and profitable harvest ends for the year. This combined with competitor states coming into season means that late-bearing

cultivars A cultivar is a type of Horticulture, cultivated plant that people have selected for desired phenotypic trait, traits and when Plant propagation, propagated retain those traits. Methods used to propagate cultivars include: division, root and st ...

are commercially inviable here.

Citrus

Although citrus cultivation also began here in the 1500s, commercial scale production was only attempted in the 1920s. At first this went badly due to severe pest and disease epidemics, which were themselves due to poor understanding of the local climate and terrain. oranges make up 93% of Florida's citrus production, followed by 6% for grapefruit, and 1% for

tangerine The tangerine is a type of citrus fruit that is orange in color. Its scientific name varies. It has been treated as a separate species under the name ''Citrus tangerina'' or ''Citrus'' × ''tangerina'', or treated as a variety of ''Citrus retic ...

s and

tangelo The tangelo ( , ; ''C. reticulata × C. maxima'' or ''× C. paradisi''), ''Citrus × tangelo, is'' a citrus fruit hybrid of a ''Citrus reticulata'' variety, such as mandarin orange or tangerine, and a ''Citrus maxima'' variety, such as a pomel ...

s. For 2018, 10.9% of all cash receipts were citruses. In 2006, 67% of all citrus, 74% of oranges, 58% of tangerines, and 54% of grapefruit were grown in Florida. About 95% of commercial orange production in the state is destined for processing (mostly as orange juice, the official

state beverage This is a list of state beverages as designated by the various states of the United States. The first known usage of declaring a specific beverage a "state beverage" within the US began in 1965 with Ohio designating tomato juice as their official ...

). The top 5 citrus-producing counties, according to data in 2019, was "DeSoto (12.8 million boxes), Polk (12.5 million boxes), Highlands (10.8 million boxes), Hendry (10.5 million boxes) and Hardee (8.16 million boxes)", according to ''Florida Agriculture by the Numbers''. Together they contribute 71% of Florida's total citrus production. The Central produced the most citrus, followed by the Western area and the Southern areas. International citrus fresh fruit exports totaled to "2.05 million 4/5 bushel cartons", and Japan received the majority of the grapefruit exports. Canada received most of Florida's orange and tangerine exports. ''Florida Agriculture by the Numbers'' reports "4.70 million gallons of Frozen Concentrated Orange Juice (FCOJ), and 0.38 million gallons of Frozen Concentrated Grapefruit Juice (FCGJ) was exported in the 2018–2019 season".

Other crops

The largest farm category by sales in Florida is the $2.3billion ornamental industry, which includes nursery, greenhouse, flowers, and sod products. Other products include sugarcane, tomatoes and

celery Celery (''Apium graveolens'') is a marshland plant in the family Apiaceae that has been cultivated as a vegetable since antiquity. Celery has a long fibrous stalk tapering into leaves. Depending on location and cultivar, either its stalks, lea ...

. The state is the largest producer of

sweet corn Sweet corn (''Zea mays'' convar. ''saccharata'' var. ''rugosa''), also called sugar corn and pole corn, is a variety of maize grown for human consumption with a high sugar content. Sweet corn is the result of a naturally occurring recessive muta ...

and

green beans Green beans are young, unripe fruits of various cultivars of the common bean (''Phaseolus vulgaris''), although immature or young pods of the runner bean (''Phaseolus coccineus''), yardlong bean ( ''Vigna unguiculata'' subsp. ''sesquipedalis' ...

for the U.S. The Everglades Agricultural Area is a major center for agriculture. The

environmental impact of agriculture The environmental impact of agriculture is the effect that different farming practices have on the ecosystems around them, and how those effects can be traced back to those practices. The environmental impact of agriculture varies widely based on p ...

, especially

water pollution Water pollution (or aquatic pollution) is the contamination of water bodies, usually as a result of human activities, so that it negatively affects its uses. Water bodies include lakes, rivers, oceans, aquifers, reservoirs and groundwater. Water ...

, is a major issue in Florida today. The state has a near monopoly on

saw palmetto ''Serenoa repens'', commonly known as saw palmetto, is the sole species currently classified in the genus ''Serenoa''. It is a small palm, growing to a maximum height around . It is endemic to the subtropical and tropical Southeastern United S ...

berries, an alternative medicine used to treat

prostate The prostate is both an Male accessory gland, accessory gland of the male reproductive system and a muscle-driven mechanical switch between urination and ejaculation. It is found only in some mammals. It differs between species anatomically, ...

and urinary disorders. The state is #1 in . Harvest is almost year-round, from October to June. The highest temperatures of the summer from July to September end profitable yield and even the heat of June and October limit productivity, such that April to May and November to January are the largest harvests of the year.

Federal Crop Insurance The Federal Crop Insurance Corporation (FCIC) is a wholly owned government corporation managed by the Risk Management Agency of the United States Department of Agriculture. FCIC manages the federal crop insurance program, which provides U.S. farme ...

for fresh tomatoes specifically excludes

insects Insects (from Latin ') are pancrustacean hexapod invertebrates of the class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body (head, thorax and abdomen), three pairs of j ...

and

diseases A disease is a particular abnormal condition that negatively affects the structure or function of all or part of an organism, and that is not immediately due to any external injury. Diseases are often known to be medical conditions that ar ...

. See also , , and . Much of the in the country is grown here, especially around Dade. Okra is grown throughout the state to some degree however and so okra is available ten months of the year here. Yields range from less than to over .

Wholesale Wholesaling or distributing is the sale of goods or merchandise to retailers; to industrial, commercial, institutional or other professional business users; or to other wholesalers (wholesale businesses) and related subordinated services. In ...

prices can go as high as $18/bushel which is . The Regional IPM Centers provide

integrated pest management Integrated pest management (IPM), also known as integrated pest control (IPC) is a broad-based approach that integrates both chemical and non-chemical practices for economic control of pests. IPM aims to suppress pest populations below the econ ...

plans specifically for the southern part of the state.

Pests and diseases

= Gray Mold

= Gray Mold is caused by '. due to this fungus is one of the most important strawberry diseases and post-harvest diseases here, as it is everywhere. (See also .) Occasionally yield losses can be over 50% in the state. Conditions favorable to the disease occur here from November to March, and its most severe destruction is in February and March. When making fungicide decisions about timing and ingredients, the UFl

Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences The University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) is a teaching, research and Extension scientific organization focused on agriculture and natural resources. It is a partnership of federal, state, and county governmen ...

recommends the Strawberry Advisory System for a

decision support system A decision support system (DSS) is an information system that supports business or organizational decision-making activities. DSSs serve the management, operations and planning levels of an organization (usually mid and higher management) and h ...

Prophylactic Preventive healthcare, or prophylaxis, consists of measures taken for the purposes of disease prevention.Hugh R. Leavell and E. Gurney Clark as "the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life, and promoting physical and mental hea ...

fungicide dips don't work for this pathogen and so many in-season sprays are the only option. UFL IFAS recommends

thiram Thiram is the simplest thiuram disulfide and the oxidized dimer of dimethyldithiocarbamate. It is used as a fungicide, ectoparasiticide An ectoparasiticide is an antiparasitic drug used in the treatment of ectoparasitic infestations. These drugs a ...

captan Captan is a general use pesticide (GUP) that belongs to the phthalimide class of fungicides. It is a white solid, although commercial samples appear yellow or brownish. Applications Although it can be applied on its own, Captan is often added ...

, captan + fexhexamid, penthiopyrad, isofetamid,

fluxapyroxad Fluxapyroxad is a broad-spectrum pyrazole-carboxamide fungicide used on a large variety of commercial crops. It stunts fungus growth by inhibiting the succinate dehydrogenase (SQR) enzyme. Application of fluxapyroxad helps prevent many wilts and ...

pyraclostrobin Pyraclostrobin is a quinone outside inhibitor ( QI)-type fungicide used in agriculture. Among the QIs, it lies within the strobilurin chemical class. Use Pyraclostrobin is used to protect ''Fragaria'', ''Rubus idaeus'', ''Vaccinium corymbosum'', ...

fluopyram Fluopyram is a fungicide and nematicide used in agriculture. It is used to control fungal diseases such as gray mold (Botrytis), powdery mildew, apple scab, ''Alternaria'', ''Sclerotinia'', and ''Monilinia ''Monilinia'' is a genus of fungi in ...

pyrimethanil Pyrimethanil is a broad spectrum fungicide often applied to seeds. It inhibits methionine Methionine (symbol Met or M) () is an essential amino acid in humans. As the precursor of other amino acids such as cysteine and taurine, versatile compo ...

, pydiflumetofen +

fludioxonil Fludioxonil is a non-systemic fungicide, introduced in 1993 by Ciba-Geigy (now Syngenta). It is used for the treatment of crops, particularly cereals, fruits and vegetables, and ornamental plants. It is often used in combination with another fung ...

, and cyprodinil + fludioxonil. There is a massive problem with

multiple fungicide resistance Fungicides are biocidal chemical compounds or biological organisms used to kill parasitic fungi or their spores. A fungistatic inhibits their growth. Fungi can cause serious damage in agriculture, resulting in critical losses of yield, quality ...

in this disease here, with most ''B.c.''

isolates {{About, , the linguistics term dealing with languages unrelated to any other language in the world, Language isolate, other uses, Isolate (disambiguation){{!Isolate Isolates is a term used in developmental psychology and family studies, to describ ...

showing two to six resistances and three being most common, with only

providing any protection in many populations. Multiresistant ''B.c.'' caused a disastrous

crop loss Crop diversity or crop biodiversity is the variety and variability of crops, plants used in agriculture, including their genetic and phenotypic characteristics. It is a subset of and a specific element of agricultural biodiversity. Over the past ...

event across the state in 2012.

Resistance management Pesticide resistance describes the decreased susceptibility of a pest population to a pesticide that was previously effective at controlling the pest. Pest species evolve pesticide resistance via natural selection: the most resistant specimens su ...

is thus extremely important and monotonous fungicide use is not an option. Resistance management is mostly incorporated into the Strawberry Advisory System already. Methyl bromide was an important part of production and its ban has greatly increased costs, both for soil fumigation with alternatives, and because further

applications Application may refer to: Mathematics and computing * Application software, computer software designed to help the user to perform specific tasks ** Application layer, an abstraction layer that specifies protocols and interface methods used in a c ...

must be made during the season and post-harvest to make up for inadequate efficacy of these alternatives.

= Other pests and diseases

Citrus canker Citrus canker is a disease affecting ''Citrus'' species caused by the bacterium ''Xanthomonas'' (''X.axonopodis; X. campestris''). Infection causes lesions on the leaves, stems, and fruit of citrus trees, including lime, oranges, and grapefruit ...

(''Xanthomonas axonopodis'') continues to be an issue of concern. From 1997 to 2013, the growing of citrus trees has declined 25%, from .

Citrus greening Citrus greening disease (; or HLB) is a disease of citrus caused by a vector-transmitted pathogen. The causative agents are motile bacteria, '' Liberibacter'' spp. The disease is vectored and transmitted by the Asian citrus psyllid, '' Diaphorin ...

disease is incurable. A study states that it has caused the loss of $4.5billion between 2006 and 2012. , it was the major agricultural concern. Results of the annual Commercial Citrus Inventory showed that citrus acreage in 2019 was down 4% than 2018 and was the lowest in a series that began in 1966. There was a net loss of 16,411 acres during the 2018–2019 season and was twice what was lost in the previous season. Of a survey conducted of 25 published counties, 24 of them, or 96% recorded decrease in acreage. Only

Sarasota County Sarasota County is a county located in Southwest Florida. At the 2020 US census, the population was 434,006. Its county seat is Sarasota and its largest city is North Port. Sarasota County is part of the North Port–Sarasota–Bradenton, FL m ...

showed an increase in acreage during the 2018–2019 season. Other major citrus concerns include citrus root weevil ''

Diaprepes abbreviatus ''Diaprepes abbreviatus'', also known as the diaprepes root weevil, citrus root weevil and sugarcane rootstock borer weevil, is a species of weevil that is native to the Caribbean, where in Spanish it is colloquially called chichí. It has becom ...

'', the citrus leafminer ''

Phyllocnistis citrella The citrus leafminer (''Phyllocnistis citrella'') is a moth of the family Gracillariidae. It is also known as CLM in agriculture. It was first found in Florida in 1993, but is now found all over the world, including Argentina, Australia, Brazil, ...

'', and the Asian citrus psyllid ''

Diaphorina citri ''Diaphorina citri'', the Asian citrus psyllid, is a sap-sucking, hemipteran bug in the family Psyllidae. It is one of two confirmed vectors of citrus greening disease. It has a wide distribution in southern Asia and has spread to other citrus g ...

''. Tomato, bell pepper, and strawberry were the largest users of

methyl bromide Bromomethane, commonly known as methyl bromide, is an organobromine compound with formula C H3 Br. This colorless, odorless, nonflammable gas is produced both industrially and biologically. It has a tetrahedral shape and it is a recognized ozon ...

and so the phase out has required hard choices for alternative

soil fumigant Fumigation is a method of pest control or the removal of harmful micro-organisms by completely filling an area with gaseous pesticides—or fumigants—to suffocate or poison the pests within. It is used to control pests in buildings (s ...

s. A

methyl iodide Iodomethane, also called methyl iodide, and commonly abbreviated "MeI", is the chemical compound with the formula CH3I. It is a dense, colorless, volatile liquid. In terms of chemical structure, it is related to methane by replacement of one h ...

chloropicrin Chloropicrin, also known as PS and nitrochloroform, is a chemical compound currently used as a broad-spectrum antimicrobial, fungicide, herbicide, insecticide, and nematicide. It was used as a poison gas in World War I. Its chemical structural for ...

mix has served well, producing equal performance to MB in pepper. The Spotted Wing Drosophila (''

Drosophila suzukii ''Drosophila suzukii'', commonly called the spotted wing drosophila or SWD, is a fruit fly. ''D. suzukii'', originally from southeast Asia, is becoming a major pest species in America and Europe, because it infests fruit early during the ripening ...

'') is a threat to

blueberry Blueberries are a widely distributed and widespread group of perennial flowering plants with blue or purple berries. They are classified in the section ''Cyanococcus'' within the genus ''Vaccinium''. ''Vaccinium'' also includes cranberries, bi ...

, peach,

cherry A cherry is the fruit of many plants of the genus ''Prunus'', and is a fleshy drupe (stone fruit). Commercial cherries are obtained from cultivars of several species, such as the sweet ''Prunus avium'' and the sour ''Prunus cerasus''. The nam ...

strawberry The garden strawberry (or simply strawberry; ''Fragaria × ananassa'') is a widely grown hybrid species of the genus '' Fragaria'', collectively known as the strawberries, which are cultivated worldwide for their fruit. The fruit is widely ap ...

raspberry The raspberry is the edible fruit of a multitude of plant species in the genus ''Rubus'' of the rose family, most of which are in the subgenus '' Idaeobatus''. The name also applies to these plants themselves. Raspberries are perennial with w ...

, and

blackberry The blackberry is an edible fruit produced by many species in the genus ''Rubus'' in the family Rosaceae, hybrids among these species within the subgenus ''Rubus'', and hybrids between the subgenera ''Rubus'' and ''Idaeobatus''. The taxonomy of ...

here. ''D. suzukii'' was introduced to much of North America from its initial

introduction Introduction, The Introduction, Intro, or The Intro may refer to: General use * Introduction (music), an opening section of a piece of music * Introduction (writing), a beginning section to a book, article or essay which states its purpose and g ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

, including to this state. is commonly caused by ' here. Adaskaveg & Hartin 1997 identify the most common

strain Strain may refer to: Science and technology * Strain (biology), variants of plants, viruses or bacteria; or an inbred animal used for experimental purposes * Strain (chemistry), a chemical stress of a molecule * Strain (injury), an injury to a mu ...

s on strawberry here. The (''

Spodoptera frugiperda The fall armyworm (''Spodoptera frugiperda'') is a species in the order Lepidoptera and one of the species of the fall armyworm moths distinguished by their larval life stage. The term "armyworm" can refer to several species, often describing the ...

'') is a major pest here.

South Florida South Florida is the southernmost region of the U.S. state of Florida. It is one of Florida's three most commonly referred to directional regions; the other two are Central Florida and North Florida. South Florida is the southernmost part of th ...

is one of only two

overwintering Overwintering is the process by which some organisms pass through or wait out the winter season, or pass through that period of the year when "winter" conditions (cold or sub-zero temperatures, ice, snow, limited food supplies) make normal activi ...

areas for FAW in North America (the other being

South Texas South Texas is a region of the U.S. state of Texas that lies roughly south of—and includes—San Antonio. The southern and western boundary is the Rio Grande, and to the east it is the Gulf of Mexico. The population of this region is about 4.96 ...

). Thus the entire state and the south especially is hard hit every year. Bt crops have been successful against FAW but some

Bt resistance ''Bacillus thuringiensis'' (or Bt) is a gram-positive, soil-dwelling bacterium, the most commonly used biological pesticide worldwide. ''B. thuringiensis'' also occurs naturally in the gut of caterpillars of various types of moths and butterflie ...

is appearing here which is a tremendous threat to productivity. Huang ''et al.'', 2014 find a high degree of Cry1F resistance (Cry1F-r) in the south of the state, probably the result of resistant FAW migration from

Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and Unincorporated ...

. This Cry1F-resistant population has low

cross-resistance Cross-resistance is when something develops resistance to several substances that have a similar mechanism of action. For example, if a certain type of bacteria develops resistance to one antibiotic, that bacteria will also have resistance to sev ...

with Cry1A.105 but none with Cry2Ab2 or

Vip3A Delta endotoxins (δ-endotoxins) are pore-forming toxins produced by ''Bacillus thuringiensis'' species of bacteria. They are useful for their insecticide, insecticidal action and are the primary toxin produced by Bt maize, Bt maize/corn. Dur ...

. Overall, several studies find Cry1F-r is common here. Banerjee ''et al.'', 2017 does not find the Cry1F-r allele '' SfABCC2mut'' in Florida in 2012, 2014, or 2016. Because this allele is very common in Puerto Rico, they fail to support any substantial immigration of FAW from PR to Florida, contrary to earlier studies including Huang above. The Medfly (''

Ceratitis capitata ''Ceratitis capitata'', commonly known as the Mediterranean fruit fly or medfly, is a yellow-and-brown fly native to sub-Saharan Africa. It has no near relatives in the Western Hemisphere and is considered to be one of the most destructive frui ...

'') was introduced here and to California and Texas. Due to its wide host range it was immediately an important priority for the states and for USDA

APHIS ''Aphis'' is a genus of insects in the family Aphididae containing at least 600 species of aphids. It includes many notorious agricultural pests, such as the soybean aphid '' Aphis glycines''. Many species of ''Aphis'', such as '' A. coreopsidis ...

. Using

sterile insect technique The sterile insect technique (SIT) is a method of biological insect control, whereby overwhelming numbers of sterile insects are released into the wild. The released insects are preferably male, as this is more cost-effective and the females ma ...

it was successfully eradicated from North America entirely. is caused by ''Xanthomonas axonopodis'' pv. ''vesicatoria''. is produced by ''Pseudomonas syringae'' pv. ''tomato''. Both are economically significant in fresh-market tomato here. See also and . The (SLW, ''Bemisia tabaci'' strain B) was first noticed here in 1986. Previously only the A strain had been known here, and was only occasionally a

crop pest A pest is any animal or plant harmful to humans or human concerns. The term is particularly used for creatures that damage crops, livestock, and forestry or cause a nuisance to people, especially in their homes. Humans have modified the environ ...

. Suddenly in 1986 SLW was a major crop pest and major

vector Vector most often refers to: *Euclidean vector, a quantity with a magnitude and a direction *Vector (epidemiology), an agent that carries and transmits an infectious pathogen into another living organism Vector may also refer to: Mathematic ...

crop disease Plant pathology (also phytopathology) is the scientific study of diseases in plants caused by pathogens (infectious organisms) and environmental conditions (physiological factors). Organisms that cause infectious disease include fungi, oomyc ...

s. Since then Strain A has disappeared from the United States entirely and Strain B has continued to be a widespread problem here. The (''

Estigmene acrea ''Estigmene acrea'', the salt marsh moth or acrea moth, is a moth in the family Erebidae. The species was first described by Dru Drury in 1773. It is found in North America, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, Colombia, Mexico. Descr ...

'') is a common pest of fruit and vegetable cultivation here. After arrival in the 1930s in

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...

, the (RIFA, ''

Solenopsis invicta The red imported fire ant (''Solenopsis invicta''), also known as the fire ant or RIFA, is a species of ant native to South America. A member of the genus '' Solenopsis'' in the subfamily Myrmicinae, it was described by Swiss entomologist Feli ...

'') quickly spread here. It is a significant agricultural drag due to its soil disruption, its mound building interfering with field machines, feeding on the plants themselves, and attacks on livestock.

Treatments

= Treatments in fresh-market tomato

= (ASM) is a plant activator producing

systemic acquired resistance Systemic acquired resistance (SAR) is a "whole-plant" resistance response that occurs following an earlier localized exposure to a pathogen. SAR is analogous to the innate immune system found in animals, and although there are many shared aspects b ...

(SAR). In a very widely regarded experiment Louws ''et al.'', 2001 used ASM to protect fresh tomato cultivation here against Tomato Bacterial Spot and Tomato Bacterial Speck. Over four years they treated with ASM as an alternative to

copper bactericide Copper pesticides are copper compounds used as bactericides, algaecides, or fungicides. They can kill bacteria, oomycetes and algae, and prevent fungal spores from germinating. Common forms of fixed copper fungicides include copper sulfate, cop ...

and achieved almost total control with no yield loss. (Some

fungicides Fungicides are biocidal chemical compounds or biological organisms used to kill parasitic fungi or their spores. A fungistatic inhibits their growth. Fungi can cause serious damage in agriculture, resulting in critical losses of yield, quality, ...

were required to complement the bacterial control of ASM.) This result is spoken of worldwide when discussing basic

plant biology Botany, also called , plant biology or phytology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology. A botanist, plant scientist or phytologist is a scientist who specialises in this field. The term "botany" comes from the Ancient Greek wo ...

, SAR, induced systemic resistance, the biology of Xanthomonads, and the need for alternative pesticides due to resistance, including phage therapy in agriculture. See also , , and .

Fishing

In 2009, fishing was a $6billion industry, employing 60,000 jobs for sports and commercial purposes. Florida aquaculture producers reported sales in 2018 of $72 million, according to a survey administered by the Florida Agricultural Statistics Service.

Government and military

KSC-20171215-PH_AWG03_0009_(24214520767)

Since the development of the federal

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research. NASA was established in 1958, succeeding t ...

Merritt Island launch sites on Cape Canaveral (most notably Kennedy Space Center) in 1962, Florida has developed a sizable

aerospace industry Aerospace is a term used to collectively refer to the atmosphere and outer space. Aerospace activity is very diverse, with a multitude of commercial, industrial and military applications. Aerospace engineering consists of aeronautics and astr ...

. Another major economic engine in Florida is the

United States military The United States Armed Forces are the military forces of the United States. The armed forces consists of six service branches: the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Space Force, and Coast Guard. The president of the United States is the ...

. There are 24 military bases in the state, housing three

Unified Combatant Command A unified combatant command (CCMD), also referred to as a combatant command, is a joint military command of the United States Department of Defense that is composed of units from two or more service branches of the United States Armed Forces, an ...

United States Central Command The United States Central Command (USCENTCOM or CENTCOM) is one of the eleven unified combatant commands of the U.S. Department of Defense. It was established in 1983, taking over the previous responsibilities of the Rapid Deployment Joint Tas ...

in Tampa,

United States Southern Command The United States Southern Command (USSOUTHCOM), located in Doral, Florida, Doral, Florida in Greater Miami, is one of the eleven unified combatant commands in the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for providing contingen ...

in Doral, and

United States Special Operations Command The United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM or SOCOM) is the unified combatant command charged with overseeing the various special operations component commands of the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, and Air Force of the United States Arm ...

in Tampa. Some 109,390 U.S. military personnel stationed in Florida, contributing, directly and indirectly, $52billion a year to the state's economy. In 2009, there were 89,706 federal workers employed within the state. Tens of thousands more employees work for contractors who have federal contracts, including those with the military. In 2012, government of all levels was a top employer in all counties in the state, because this classification includes public school teachers and other school staff. School boards employ nearly one of every thirty workers in the state. The federal military was the top employer in three counties.

Mass media

Broadband Internet In telecommunications, broadband is wide bandwidth data transmission which transports multiple signals at a wide range of frequencies and Internet traffic types, that enables messages to be sent simultaneously, used in fast internet connections. ...

in Florida is deployed by both government agencies and private companies. Examples of government agencies include the North Florida Broadband Authority.

Mining

Phosphate mining In chemistry, a phosphate is an anion, salt (chemistry), salt, functional group or ester derived from a phosphoric acids and phosphates, phosphoric acid. It most commonly means orthophosphate, a derivative of phosphoric acid, orthophosphoric a ...

, concentrated in the

Bone Valley The Bone Valley is a region of central Florida, encompassing portions of present-day Hardee, Hillsborough, Manatee, and Polk counties, in which phosphate is mined for use in the production of agricultural fertilizer. Florida currently contains t ...

, is the state's third-largest industry. The state produces about 75% of the phosphate required by farmers in the United States and 25% of the world supply, with about 95% used for agriculture (90% for fertilizer and 5% for livestock feed supplements) and 5% used for other products. After the watershed events of

Hurricane Andrew Hurricane Andrew was a very powerful and destructive Category 5 Atlantic hurricane that struck the Bahamas, Florida, and Louisiana in August 1992. It is the most destructive hurricane to ever hit Florida in terms of structures damaged ...

in 1992, Florida began investing in economic development through the Office of Trade, Tourism, and Economic Development. Governor

Jeb Bush John Ellis "Jeb" Bush (born February 11, 1953) is an American politician and businessman who served as the 43rd governor of Florida from 1999 to 2007. Bush, who grew up in Houston, was the second son of former President George H. W. Bush a ...

realized that watershed events such as Andrew negatively impacted Florida's backbone industry of tourism severely. The office was directed to target Medical/Bio-Sciences among others. Three years later, The

Scripps Research Institute Scripps Research, previously known as The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI), is a nonprofit American medical research facility that focuses on research and education in the biomedical sciences. Headquartered in San Diego, California, the institu ...

(TSRI) announced it had chosen Florida for its newest expansion. In 2003, TSRI announced plans to establish a major science center in Palm Beach, a facility on , which TSRI planned to occupy in 2006.

Real estate

In the early 20th century, land speculators discovered Florida, and businessmen such as

Henry Plant Henry Bradley Plant (October 27, 1819 – June 23, 1899), was a businessman, entrepreneur, and investor involved with many transportation interests and projects, mostly railroads, in the southeastern United States. He was founder of the Plant Sys ...

and

Henry Flagler Henry Morrison Flagler (January 2, 1830 – May 20, 1913) was an American industrialist and a founder of Standard Oil, which was first based in Ohio. He was also a key figure in the development of the Atlantic coast of Florida and founde ...

developed railroad systems, which led people to move in, drawn by the weather and local economies. From then on, tourism boomed, fueling a cycle of development that overwhelmed a great deal of farmland. At the end of the third quarter of 2008, Florida had the highest mortgage delinquency rate in the US, with 7.8% of mortgages delinquent at least 60 days. A 2009 list of national housing markets that were hard hit in the real estate crash included a disproportionate number in Florida. The early 21st-century building boom left Florida with 300,000 vacant homes in 2009, according to state figures. In 2009, the US Census Bureau estimated that Floridians spent an average 49.1% of personal income on housing-related costs, the third-highest percentage in the US. In the third quarter of 2009, there were 278,189 delinquent loans, 80,327 foreclosures. Sales of existing homes in February 2010 was 11,890, up 21% from the same month in 2009. Only two metropolitan areas showed a decrease in homes sold:

Panama City Panama City ( es, Ciudad de Panamá, links=no; ), also known as Panama (or Panamá in Spanish), is the capital and largest city of Panama. It has an urban population of 880,691, with over 1.5 million in its metropolitan area. The city is locat ...

and

Brevard County Brevard County ( ) is a county located in the east central portion of the U.S. state of Florida. As of the 2020 census, the population was 606,612, making it the 10th-most populated county in Florida. The official county seat is located in T ...

. The average sales price for an existing house was $131,000, 7% decrease from the prior year.

Seaports and boating

Florida has many seaports that serve container ships, tank ships, and cruise lines. Major ports in Florida include

Port Tampa Bay Port Tampa Bay, known as the Port of Tampa until January 2014, is the largest port in the state of Florida and is overseen by the Tampa Port Authority, a Hillsborough County, Florida, Hillsborough County agency. The port is located in Tampa, Flori ...

in Tampa,

Port Everglades Port Everglades is a seaport in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, located in Broward County. Port Everglades is one of South Florida's foremost economic engines, as it is the gateway for both international trade and cruise vacations. In 2019, Port Eve ...

in Fort Lauderdale,

Port of Jacksonville The Port of Jacksonville (Jaxport) is an international trade seaport on the St. Johns River in Jacksonville, Florida. The 14th largest container port in the United States, it carries about 18 million short tons of cargo each year and has an annu ...

in Jacksonville,

PortMiami The Port of Miami, styled as "PortMiami" but formally the Dante B. Fascell Port of Miami, is a major seaport located in Biscayne Bay at the mouth of the Miami River in Miami, Florida. It is the largest passenger port in the world, and one of the ...

in Miami,

Port Canaveral Port Canaveral is a cruise, cargo, and naval port in Brevard County, Florida, United States. It is one of the busiest cruise ports in the world with 4.5 million cruise passengers passing through during 2016. Over 5.4 million tonnes of bulk car ...

Port Manatee SeaPort Manatee is a county-owned deepwater seaport located in the eastern Gulf of Mexico at the entrance to Tampa Bay in northern Manatee County, Florida. It is one of Florida's largest deepwater seaports and also regarded as the closest U.S. d ...

Manatee County Manatee County is a county in the Central Florida portion of the U.S. state of Florida. As of the 2020 US Census, the population was 399,710. Manatee County is part of the North Port-Sarasota-Bradenton Metropolitan Statistical Area. Its county s ...

, and

Port of Palm Beach The Port of Palm Beach is located in Riviera Beach, Florida, United States, in Palm Beach County. The port is an independent taxing district, with a five-member board of commissioners elected at large by voters within the district. The port dist ...

in Riviera Beach. The world's top three busiest cruise ports are found in Florida with PortMiami as the busiest and Port Canaveral and Port Everglades as the second and third busiest. Port Tampa Bay meanwhile is the largest in the state, having the most tonnage. , Port Tampa Bay ranks 16th in the United States by tonnage in domestic trade, 32nd in foreign trade, and 22nd in total trade. It is the largest, most diversified port in Florida, has an economic impact of more than $15.1billion, and supports more than 80,000 jobs. Florida is the leading state for sales of powerboats. Boats sales totaled $1.96billion in 2013.

Tourism

Tourism makes up one of the largest sectors of the state economy, with nearly 1.4million people employed in the tourism industry in 2016 (a record for the state, surpassing the 1.2million employment from 2015). In 2015, Florida broke the 100-million visitor mark for the first time in state history by hosting a record 105million visitors. The state has set tourism records for eight consecutive years, most recently breaking the 120-million visitor mark for the first time in 2018 with 126.1million visitors reported. Many beach towns are popular tourist destinations, particularly during winter and spring break. Twenty-three million tourists visited Florida beaches in 2000, spending $22billion. The public has a right to beach access under the

public trust doctrine The public trust doctrine is the principle that the sovereign holds in trust for public use some Natural resource, resources such as shoreline between the high and low tide lines, regardless of private property ownership. Origins The Roman law, ...

, but some areas have access effectively blocked by private owners for a long distance. Data released shows 30.9 million visitors coming to the state from October to December of 2021, up nearly 60% from the same period in 2020 and topping pre-pandemic levels from the same quarter pre-pandemic.

Amusement park An amusement park is a park that features various attractions, such as rides and games, as well as other events for entertainment purposes. A theme park is a type of amusement park that bases its structures and attractions around a central ...

s, especially in the

Greater Orlando The Orlando metropolitan area, commonly referred to as Greater Orlando, Metro Orlando, Central Florida as well as for U.S. Census purposes as the Orlando–Kissimmee–Sanford, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area, is a metropolitan area in the ...

area, make up a significant portion of tourism. The

Walt Disney World Resort The Walt Disney World Resort, also called Walt Disney World or Disney World, is an entertainment resort complex in Bay Lake, Florida, Bay Lake and Lake Buena Vista, Florida, Lake Buena Vista, Florida, United States, near the cities of Orlando ...

is the most visited vacation resort in the world with more than 58million visitors annually, consisting of four

theme park An amusement park is a park that features various attractions, such as rides and games, as well as other events for entertainment purposes. A theme park is a type of amusement park that bases its structures and attractions around a central ...

s, 27 themed resort hotels, nine non-Disney hotels, two

water park A water park (or waterpark, water world) is an amusement park that features water play areas such as swimming pools, water slides, splash pads, water playgrounds, and lazy rivers, as well as areas for floating, bathing, swimming, and other baref ...

s, four

golf course A golf course is the grounds on which the sport of golf is played. It consists of a series of holes, each consisting of a tee box, a fairway, the rough and other hazards, and a green with a cylindrical hole in the ground, known as a "cup". Th ...

s and other recreational venues. Other major theme parks in the area include

Universal Orlando Resort Universal Orlando Resort, commonly known as Universal Orlando or simply Universal, formerly Universal Studios Escape, is an American theme park and entertainment resort complex based in Orlando, Florida. The resort is operated by Universal Par ...

SeaWorld Orlando SeaWorld Orlando is a theme park and marine zoological park, in Orlando, Florida. It is owned and operated by SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment. When combined with its neighbor Discovery Cove and Aquatica, it forms SeaWorld Parks and Resorts Orla ...

and

Busch Gardens Tampa Busch Gardens Tampa Bay is a animal theme park located in Tampa, Florida, United States, with the entire park landscaped and designed around themes of Africa and Asia. Owned and operated by SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment, the park opened on Ju ...

. Florida's many state parks and protected areas receive a lot of visitors as well with 25.2million visitors visiting

Florida State Parks There are 175 state parks and 9 state trails in the U.S. state of Florida which encompass more than , providing recreational opportunities for both residents and tourists. Almost half of the state parks have an associated local 501(c)(3) non-pr ...

in 2013.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Economy Of Florida