MILK SUPPLY, MOVEMENT, UTILIZATION AND PRODUCTION
 CONSUMPTION BALANCE IN FLORIDA MARKETS


 Production, Farm Disposition and Income
 to Farmers, 1925-1959

 With its rapidly expanding population, Florida's needs for fluid
milk have continually increased in all milk marketing areas. Subtropical
climate, soil, animal and plant pests and diseases all add to the
problems of producing milk. These factors contribute to a relatively
higher cost of production However, during the period for which data
were collected, only minor reliance was made on fluid milk supplies
originating outside of Florida. Most of the need for temporary ship-
ments from other states was a result of seasonal shortages in the local
producer supply.

 Production of Milk.-- Dairy farming in Florida has experienced
the same rapid growth that has characterized the State's total agri-
cultural economy. From 1925 to 1959, numbers of milk cows increased
threefold. Production per cow in 1959 was above 227 percent of the
1925 level; total milk production was almost six times the amount at
the beginning of the period. In 1959, 192,000 cows, with an average
production of 6,460 pounds per cow, produced a total of 1,240,000,000
pounds of milk (Table 28).

 Disposition and Income to Farmers from Milk Sales.--Marketing
of milk produced on farms has changed considerably since 1925 (Table 29).
Farmers now sell most of their output to plants as whole milk rather
than as farm-separated cream. Milk utilized on farms, marketed at
retail and delivered to plants accounted for nearly equal portions of
the total production in 1925. Less than 10 percent of output in 1959
was used on farms and sold by farmers at retail. Of the total produc-
tion of milk, 37 million pounds were used on farms, 43 million pounds
were retailed as whole milk and cream and the remainder was sold as
whole milk to processing plants. The average price received for milk
decreased from 1925 to 1940, rose in 1945 and was nearly stable at
about $7,00 per hundredweight from 1950 to 1959. In 1959, the total
income received from milk was $83,916,000. This was nearly ten times
the $8,865,000 received in 1925.


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