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The cabbage industry

Cabbage is one of the world's most important vegetables, especially in the temperate zone. Below is a list of the principal cabbage production areas in the world, followed by the amount of land on which cabbage is grown.

In the U.S. fresh market cabbage ranks sixth in area planted and fifth in dollar value among all vegetables grown. In the northern states cabbage is a summer and fall crop; a winter and spring crop in the southern states. Cabbage is grown throughout the year in California. For the processing market about 10,000 acres are grown, primarily in the northern states. Wisconsin is the leading state in production of cabbage for processing. Most processed cabbage goes for the production of sauerkraut.

Florida is the leading state for winter and spring production of fresh market cabbage. In 1988-89 cabbage was harvested from 15,500 acres in Florida with the harvest valued at $30,433,000. Most cabbage is planted in the winter (60 percent), followed by spring planting (33 percent), then fall planting (seven percent). About 25 percent of the total cabbage acreage is planted in the Hastings area, but production is moving to other areas of Florida as well. East and West Central Florida and South Florida have significant acreage of cabbage. Harvest usually begins in November, peaks in January to March, and ends in June.

Figure 1. The cabbage harvest.

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