Florida farms are larger than average and thus tend to have larger
 loans. Using a simple average of real estate debt divided by farm numbers
 in the state, Florida's figure of $36,000 per farm is nearly twice as high
 as the next largest figure in the sixth district, Louisianna, with $19,000,
 and considerably greater than the U.S. average of $21,000.
 Similarly on a per farm acre basis, Florida's real estate debt is $98,
 followed by Georgia with $80, while the comparable U.S. average figure is
 $53. Even though these figures are approximations, when coupled with the
 previously mentioned net farm income per farm, they do suggest some invest-
 ment opportunities that banks may not be examining.
 The non-real estate figures show a broadly similar pattern. For ex-
 ample, average non-real estate debt per farm in Florida is the highest in
 the Southeast. Florida's figure is a little under $18,000, while the next
 highest is Georgia at $16,000. However the commercial banks short term con-
 tributions per farm is greater in Louisiana, with Florida and Georgia
 jointly second at about $4,500.
 All these figures illustrate that Florida agriculture is being fi-
 nanced in accordance with its larger units and greater income. Farms in
 the state have greater average real and-ncn-real estate debt loans than
 other farms in the southeast and in the nation. Yet it is not obvious that
 Florida's agriculture is financed at a sufficiently greater extent, partic-
 ularly in non-real estate loans. A simple ratio of total cash marketing
 to non-real estate debt gives some credence to this suggestion. A historical
 comparison (since 1960) with the other southeastern states, and other
 agriculturally prominent states such as California, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas
 and Texas shows that Florida's ratio is consistently the highest.15
 Most current figures support this contention. For instance, 1977
statistics show the ratio for the following.states to be: Alabama 3.1,
California 2.9, Georgia 2.2, Illinois 2.4, Louisiana 2.6, Mississippi 2.2,
Tennessee 1.5 and Texas 2.4 compared with Florida at 4.3. This ratio is
obviously simplistic, but not unuseful. It indicates at worst the cash


 15van Blokland, P.J., "An Introduction to Agricultural Credit in
Florida," Econ. Info. Rpt. 1977, Food and Resource Economics Dept.,
Ag. Expt. Stns., I.F.A.S., Univ. of FL. Gainesville, August 1977.,p.25.