Ohio Ag Connection - Ohio Floriculture Sales Ranked Fifth Nationally

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Ohio Floriculture Sales Ranked Fifth Nationally
Ohio Ag Connection - 04/29/2016

Ohio is ranked fifth in the nation in value of wholesale sales of floriculture products in 2015, behind California, Florida, Michigan, and North Carolina according to Cheryl Turner, State Statistician of the USDA, NASS, Ohio Field Office. Reports from Ohio's 472 commercial growers ($10K or more in gross sales) showed an estimated wholesale value of $224 million for all surveyed floriculture crops, up $19.5 million from 2014. This estimate includes summarized sales data as reported by growers with $100K or more in sales, plus a calculated wholesale value of sales for operations with sales from $10,000 to $99,999.

The ranking of crop category breakdowns for Ohio operations with more than $100K in sales were:

First: annual bedding/garden plants with $81.1 million in sales.

Second: potted flowering plants with $68.2 million in sales.

Third: herbaceous perennial plants with $51.8 million in sales.

Fourth: foliage plants for indoor use with $4.2 million in sales.

More specifically, the top ten Ohio floriculture crops based on revenue categories were:

Other Herbaceous Perennials Pots with 11.8 million pots sold, valued at $39.0 million.

Other Annual Potted Flowering and Foliar Plants with 5.3 million pots sold, valued at $14.5 million.

Other Annual Flowering and Foliar Hanging Baskets with 1.6 million baskets sold, valued at $12.1 million.

Potted Poinsettias with 2.8 million pots sold, valued at $10.9 million.

Potted Hardy/Garden Mums, with 3.6 million sold, valued at $10.0 million.

Other Flowering and Foliar Flats with 0.9 million flats sold, valued at $7.4 million.

Petunias Hanging Baskets with 0.7 million flats sold, valued at $4.9 million.

Potted Geranium (cuttings) with 1.7 million flats sold, valued at $4.8 million.

Potted Vegetable Type Plants with 2.7 million pots sold, valued at $4.0 million.

Vegetable Type Plant flats with 0.4 million flats sold, valued at $3.9 million.

Total covered area for all operations in the State was 27.6 million square feet. This includes both rigid and film plastic greenhouses, glass greenhouses, shade, and temporary cover. 58 percent of the covered space was film, 32 percent was covered by glass, 6 percent was covered by fiberglass and other rigid materials, and 3 percent was covered by shade and temporary cover.

The 2015 wholesale value of floriculture crops is up 4 percent from the revised 2014 valuation. The total crop value at wholesale for the 15 State program for all growers with $10,000 or more in sales is estimated at $4.37 billion for 2015, compared with $4.20 billion for 2014. California continues to be the leading State with crops valued at $1.08 billion, up 1 percent from the 2014 value. Florida, the next largest producer, is up 12 percent from the prior year to $1.03 in wholesale value. These two States account for 49 percent of the 15 State total value. For 2015, the top 5 States are California, Florida, Michigan, North Carolina, and Ohio which account for $3.00 billion or 69 percent of the 15 State program total value.

The number of producers for 2015, at 5,913, is up 5 percent in the 15 States compared with the 2014 count of 5,606. In the 15 State program, total covered area for floriculture crop production was 767 million square feet, down slightly from the revised 2014 figure. Greenhouse space for 2015, at 409 million square feet, is down 6 percent from 2014. This accounts for 53 percent of the total covered area. Shade and temporary cover is up 8 percent, to 358 million square feet. Open ground totaled 40,042 acres, down 34 percent from the revised 2014 total.

The average peak number of hired workers employed on operations in the 15 State program in 2015 is 18.3, down 12 percent from a revised average of 20.8 peak workers in 2014. A total of 4,407 operations hired workers during 2015 compared with 4,202 a year earlier. Overall, 75 percent of operations used some hired labor during 2015, down slightly from 2014.

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