mi-press-releases

News Release
NR-12-31
June 1, 2012

U.S. Department of Agriculture
National Agricultural Statistics Service
Michigan Field Office
Michigan Department of Agriculture
Post Office Box 30239
Lansing, MI  48909-6248

Phone:      (517) 324-5300
Facsimile:  (517) 324-5299
E-mail:     nass-mi@nass.usda.gov
Web site:   www.nass.usda.gov

Jay V. Johnson, Director

Michigan Floriculture Sales Ranked Third Nationally

Michigan maintained its third place national ranking in value of wholesale 
sales of floriculture products in 2011, behind California and Florida. 
Reports from Michigan's 584 commercial growers ($10K or more in gross sales) 
showed an estimated wholesale value of $376.1 million for all surveyed 
floriculture crops, down 8 percent from last year. 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 $10K to $99,999. 

The leading crop category breakdowns for Michigan operations with more than 
$100K in sales were:
	First, annual bedding/garden plants with $203.5 million in sales.
	Second, propagative materials with $68.0 million in sales.
	Third, herbaceous perennial plants with $57.1 million in sales.
	Fourth, potted flowering plants with $27.1 million in sales.

Michigan leads the nation in value of sales for 10 floriculture crops:
	Impatiens (flats) with 2.0 million flats sold, valued at $14.1million.
	Begonia Hanging Baskets with 502,000 baskets sold, valued at $3.7 
million.
	Geranium Hanging Baskets (cuttings) with 802,000 baskets sold, valued 
at $5.7 million.
	Impatiens New Guinea Hanging Baskets with 483,000 sold, valued at $3.2 
million.
	Impatiens Other Hanging Baskets with 505,000 sold, valued at $3.0 
million.
	Petunias Hanging Baskets with 1.2 million baskets sold, valued at $7.2 
million.
	Potted Easter Lillies with 1.0 million pots sold, valued at $4.4 
million.
	Potted Geraniums (seed) with 17.3 million pots sold, valued at $15.4 
million.
	Potted Petunias with 3.4 million pots sold, valued at $6.2 million. 

Total covered area for all operations in the state was 48.7 million square 
feet. This includes both rigid and film plastic greenhouses, glass 
greenhouses, shade, and temporary cover. Only California and Florida had more 
total cover.

The 2011 wholesale value of floriculture crops is down 2 percent from the 
revised 2010 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 $4.08 
billion for 2011, compared with $4.15 billion for 2010. California continues 
to be the leading state with crops valued at $1.01 billion, down slightly 
from the 2010 value. Florida, the next largest producer is up 1 percent from 
the prior year to $835 million in wholesale value. These two states account 
for 45 percent of the 15-State total value. For 2011, the top 5 states are 
California, Florida, Michigan, Texas, and North Carolina, which account for 
$2.73 billion, or 67 percent, of the 15-State total value.

Number of Producers: The number of producers for 2011, at 5,763, is down 7 
percent in the 15 States compared with the revised 2010 count of 6,164.

Area Used for Production: In the 15-State program, total covered area for 
floriculture crop production was 712 million square feet, down 2 percent from 
the 2010 revised area of 730 million square feet.

Peak Hired Workers: The average peak number of hired workers employed on 
operations in the 15-State program in 2011 is 18.7. A total of 4,382 
operations hired workers during 2011. Overall, 76 percent of operations used 
some hired labor during 2011, down 3 percentage points from 2010.