Indian River County Agriculture Guide

Indian River County counted 492 farms on 167,396 acres in the USDA 2022 Census of Agriculture, a county-wide count that takes in Sebastian, Vero Beach, Fellsmere, Indian River Shores, Orchid and the unincorporated county, and those farms sold $124,098,000 of products that year.

The farm count rose 9 percent from 2017 while land in farms fell 8 percent, so the average county farm shrank 16 percent to 340 acres (USDA NASS county profile). Most holdings are small: 152 farms cover 1 to 9 acres and 223 cover 10 to 49 acres, while only 20 reach 1,000 acres or more. On the sales side, 187 farms sold less than $2,500 of products and 93 sold $100,000 or more. Total farm production expenses reached $116,511,000, up 50 percent since 2017, and net cash farm income fell 56 percent to $15,602,000. Crops brought in 73 percent of 2022 sales and livestock, poultry and products the other 27 percent. The profile gives no separate city figures; FEMA lists the county's communities as the unincorporated county and five municipalities, Sebastian, Vero Beach, Fellsmere, Indian River Shores and Orchid (FEMA community status book). The Indian River County agricultural statistics guide carries the full 2017 and 2022 comparison table.

Fruit leads Indian River County farm sales by a wide margin, followed by aquaculture and nursery crops, and cattle and calves are the largest livestock inventory, in line with the cattle and citrus history UF/IFAS Extension Indian River County describes.

Aquaculture stands out by rank: the county placed third in Florida for aquaculture sales in 2022 (USDA NASS). By acreage, oranges led at 17,834 acres, then grapefruit at 5,222, harvested vegetables at 1,419, forage at 924 and lemons at 891. On December 31, 2022 the county's farms held 23,234 cattle and calves, 753 horses and ponies and 407 goats. The extension office says the county has a history rich in agriculture, notably in cattle and citrus (UF/IFAS Extension Indian River County).

The county's January 2026 strategic plan says to promote aquacultural producers, naming oyster farming and algae growing, and to maintain the cultural brand of Indian River County as a piece of agricultural legacy (Indian River County strategic action plan). Its target industry list pairs Agriculture, Aquaculture, and Light Industrial, with guiding light manufacturing and industrial uses to sites west of I-95 given as an example of the approach.

USDA's preliminary August 2026 inventory counts 6,135 acres of commercial citrus in Indian River County, down from 8,627 acres in 2023, and the county's strategic plan looks to new crops and to the UF/IFAS Indian River Research and Education Center for the groves.

The county's citrus tree count fell from 1,314.1 thousand in 2023 to 999.2 thousand in 2026 (USDA NASS citrus inventory). The report's statewide notes flag a September hurricane in 2022 and an October hurricane in 2024. For growers, UF/IFAS Extension Indian River County lists a multicounty fruit crops program (UF/IFAS Extension Indian River County).

What is changing: Indian River County's January 2026 Economic Development Strategic Action Plan tells the county to encourage the transition of citrus growers to new crops and industry, working with the Florida Farm Bureau on alternatives such as corn, watermelon and dragon fruit, and to develop partnerships with the UF/IFAS Indian River Research and Education Center in Fort Pierce and promote its research, such as the recent announcement of greening-resistant citrus tree varieties (Indian River County strategic action plan).

Owners apply to the Indian River County Property Appraiser, at 1800 27th Street in Vero Beach or 1921 U.S. 1 in Sebastian, by March 1 for land used for a bona fide, good faith commercial agricultural operation.

The Property Appraiser's information sheet sets out the rules: bona fide agricultural purposes means good faith commercial agricultural use of the land, the classified value comes from a formula that uses the potential income of the operation as a principal factor and usually gives a lower assessed value per acre than market land value, and only the acreage actually used for the operation can be classified (DR-482 About Agriculture Classification). The classification is not automatically renewed and is not transferable to a new owner.

Both Property Appraiser offices keep the same hours, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays: the Vero Beach office at 1800 27th Street, Building B (772-226-1469) and the Sebastian office at 1921 U.S. 1 (772-226-1133) (Indian River County Property Appraiser). The Indian River County agricultural classification (greenbelt) guide walks through who qualifies, the filing and the appeal route.

UF/IFAS Extension Indian River County runs agriculture, horticulture and 4-H youth programs, with agents available by phone at 772-226-4330 or by email at [email protected], Monday through Friday 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., and lists its office at 7961 58th Avenue, Vero Beach.

The extension office runs agriculture and natural resources programs, a multicounty fruit crops program, environmental horticulture, 4-H youth development and the Master Gardener program, whose volunteers give research-based horticultural advice to county residents (UF/IFAS Extension Indian River County). It also handles green industry fertilizer and pesticide license testing.

A practical tip: the extension page shows two addresses. Its contact block lists 7961 58th Avenue, Vero Beach 32967, while the site footer, last modified September 24, 2026, still shows 1800 27th Street, Vero Beach 32960. Both blocks give the same phone, 772-226-4330, and the page says agents are available by phone or email.

No: the fertilizer ordinance of the Indian River County Board of County Commissioners exempts bona fide farm operations under the Florida Right to Farm Act and other properties with pastures used for grazing livestock.

Ordinance 2013-012 defines the restricted season as June 1 through September 30 (Indian River County Ordinance 2013-012). The county's compliance sheet says no fertilizer containing nitrogen or phosphorus may be used in that rainy season, and that compliant fertilizer the rest of the year contains no phosphorus and at least 50 percent slow release nitrogen (county fertilizer compliance sheet). The sheet presents its list of locally sold compliant products as part of County merchants' efforts to protect the Indian River Lagoon.

The exemption list in the ordinance also covers lands used for bona fide scientific research. The ordinance applies across Indian River County but not within the limits of any municipality that has adopted its own ordinance on the same subject, so inside Sebastian, Vero Beach, Fellsmere, Indian River Shores or Orchid the city or town rule, where one exists, governs (Ordinance 2013-012).

Two Digital Towns guides go deeper on Indian River County agriculture: the agricultural statistics guide for the numbers and the agricultural classification (greenbelt) guide for the Property Appraiser filing in Vero Beach or Sebastian.

The county's January 2026 strategic plan names four target industries: Aerospace and Manufacturing; Finance, Insurance, and Professional Services; Agriculture, Aquaculture, and Light Industrial; and Healthcare (Indian River County strategic action plan). The Indian River County economy hub covers the wider county economy, and the Property Appraiser offices in Vero Beach and Sebastian handle classification filings.