US Floriculture Numbers Were Up in 2021: USDA Report

The numbers of floriculture producers and total sales were up in 2021, according to data released May 25 by the USDA.

The U.S. had 9,558 floriculture producers in 2021, according to the department’s National Agricultural Statistics Service, which this year expanded its floriculture survey to include all 50 states — in previous years, it only focused on 17 states. In those 17 states, the number of producers increased 8% from 2020-2021.

Sales of Annual Bedding/Garden Plants represented the largest total among all plant categories in 2021,  with $2.3 billion of wholesale and retail sales.

The USDA highlighted a few other statistics from its survey:

• The total value of sales across all floriculture crops totaled $6.43 billion. For the combined 17 states included in the program in 2020, the value increased 6%.
• The number of operations with hired workers totaled 6,759 in 2021. For the combined 17 states included in the program in 2020, the total increased 7%.
• The average peak number of workers per operation was 16.9 nationally in 2021. For the 17 states included in the program in 2020, the average number declined from 18.8 to 18.5 per operation.
• Of the 10 largest states by sales, Florida had the highest sales, followed by California. Combined, these two states accounted for nearly one-third of all sales in the United States.

The 2021 Commercial Floriculture Survey collected data about the number of growers, area of production, quantity sold, prices, and value of sales for floriculture crops as well as average number of agricultural workers per operation, according to the USDA report.

NASS conducted the survey among operations that annually produce and sell at least $10,000 of fresh-cut flowers, potted flowering plants, foliage plants, annual bedding and garden plants, potted herbaceous perennials, cut cultivated florist greens, and propagative (unfinished) floriculture material, according to the USDA report. Annual sales include retail and wholesale sales of items surveyed.

Above, Good Harvest Farm in Strasburg, Pennsylvania. Photo: Lance Cheung/USDA