mi-press-releases News Release NR-09-32 April 24, 2009 U.S. Department of Agriculture National Agricultural Statistics Service Michigan Field Office Michigan Department of Agriculture Post Office Box 26248 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 David D. Kleweno, Director Michigan Floriculture Sales Ranked Third Nationally Michigan maintained its third place national ranking in value of wholesale sales of floriculture products in 2008, according to the USDA, NASS, Michigan Field Office. Only California and Florida reported larger sales. Reports from Michigan's 720 commercial growers ($10,000 or more in gross sales) showed an estimated wholesale value of $393.5 million for all surveyed floriculture crops, down 3 percent from last year=s revised figure. This estimate includes summarized sales data as reported by growers with $100,000 or more in sales plus a calculated wholesale value of sales for operations with sales from $10,000 to $99,999. The leading crop category breakdowns for Michigan operations with more than $100,000 in sales were: First, annual bedding/garden plants with $187 million in sales. Second, propagative materials with $77 million in sales. Third, herbaceous perennial plants with $69 million in sales. Fourth, potted flowering plants with $33 million in sales. Michigan leads the nation in value of sales for 11 floriculture crops: Impatiens (flats) with 1.9 million flats sold, valued at $13.9 million. Begonia Hanging Baskets with 365,000 baskets sold, valued at $2.2 million. Geranium Hanging Baskets (cuttings) with 613,000 baskets sold, valued at $4.3 million. Impatiens Hanging Baskets with 568,000 sold, valued at $3.0 million. New Guinea Impatiens Hanging Baskets with 469,000 baskets sold, valued at $3.3 million. Petunias Hanging Baskets with 850,000 baskets sold, valued at $5.0 million. Potted Geraniums (seed) with 18.2 million pots sold, valued at $14.6 million. Potted New Guinea Impatiens with 4.3 million pots sold, valued at $6.8 million. Potted Petunias with 2.5 million pots sold, valued at $5.2 million. Potted Vegetable Plants with 8.5 million pots sold, valued at $9.3 million. Potted Hostas with 3.1 million pots sold, valued at $7.7 million. Other notable Michigan crops that ranked second in value of sales nationally were: Begonias (flats) with 827,000 flats sold, valued at $6.2 million. Marigolds (flats) with 705,000 flats sold, valued at $5.2 million. Petunias (flats) with 1.5 million flats sold, valued at $11.0 million. Pansy/Viola Hanging Baskets with 84,000 baskets sold, valued at $500,000 Other Flowering and Foliar Hanging Baskets with 2.1 million baskets sold, valued at $14.5 million. Potted Geraniums (cuttings) with 4.0 million pots sold, valued at $10.5 million. Potted Hardy/Garden Chrysanthemums with 5.6 million pots sold, valued at $13.3 million. Potted Other Herbaceous Perennials with 21.1 million pots sold, valued at $48.3 million. Potted Easter Lilies with 1.1 million pots sold, valued at $4.3 million. Potted Spring Flowering Bulbs with 7.7 million pots sold, valued at $12.1 million. Total covered area for all operations in the state remained unchanged 48.0 million square feet. This includes both rigid and film plastic greenhouses, glass greenhouses, shade, and temporary cover. Only California and Florida have more total cover. Nationally, the 2008 wholesale value of floriculture crops is down 2 percent from the revised 2007 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 $4.22 billion for 2008, compared with $4.32 billion for 2007. The number of producers for 2008, at 7,189, is down 3 percent in the 15 States compared with the revised 2007 count of 7,387. The number of producers with sales of $100,000 or more dropped 5 percent to 2,967 for 2008 from 3,136 in 2007. In the 15-State program, total covered area for floriculture crop production was 729 million square feet, 5 percent less than the revised 2007 figure.