Buying a farm, nursery or agricultural service business in Orlando and Central Florida

Orlando and Central Florida has 243 established farms, nurseries and agricultural services by our count: companies in business at least 15 years that still file with the state every year and aren't part of a larger group. Of those, 76% have been in business 20 years or more. Most will never be listed for sale, and many of their owners have never been asked.

243

established companies

76%

built over 20+ years

$313k+

a year, earned by the top quarter

33%

built over 30+ years

What it takes to own one

Farms, nurseries and agricultural services in Orlando and Central Florida come in every size. Here's what owning one could look like at three levels, from a solid company to one of the leaders, with a small business loan covering most of the price.

A solid company

Earns about: $132,000 a year
Price about: $362,000
Your cash: $51,000
Could pay you: up to $66,000 a year

A strong company

Top quarter in Orlando and Central Florida

Earns about: $313,000 a year
Price about: $861,000
Your cash: $121,000
Could pay you: up to $158,000 a year

One of the leaders

Top tenth in Orlando and Central Florida

Earns about: $534,000 a year
Price about: $1.5 million
Your cash: $205,000
Could pay you: up to $269,000 a year

Earnings are owner earnings: profit plus what the owner pays themselves, before loan payments and taxes. They and the prices are our estimates from public records, not the owners' figures, and we value companies like these at about 2.8 times a year's owner earnings. Your cash covers the down payment and closing costs, and what the business could pay you is what's left after the loan payments and the cushion lenders require. The more cash you bring, the further up you can go.

Age, size and location

Revenue is our estimate from public records, grouped into wide ranges.

In business	Companies
Under 20 years	58
20 to 29 years	105
30 to 39 years	47
40 years or more	33

Estimated yearly revenue	Companies
Under $1M	46
$1M to $2M	17
$2M to $4M	14
$4M to $8M	3
Over $8M	2

County	Companies
Marion	101
Lake	71
Orange	34
Osceola	16
Sumter	11
Seminole	10

Town	Companies
Ocala	59
Eustis	13
Apopka	12
Sorrento	12
Clermont	11
Reddick	11
Groveland	8
Winter Garden	8

What the best farms, nurseries and agricultural services have in common

A grower or production manager who knows the crop and plans to stay. In a nursery, much of the know-how lives with that person.
Repeat buyers spread across landscapers, builders and retailers, not one big account.
Inventory that is counted, healthy and in the sizes and varieties that sell in your area now.
Reliable water: wells, pumps and irrigation in good repair, and a water use permit that covers what the business actually pumps.
A clean record with state plant inspectors: no stop-sale orders or quarantines.
Shade houses, greenhouses, tractors and trucks that weren't patched together after the last storm.
Records good enough to show which crops or services actually make money.

What to check before you buy

Land. Is it included, leased or a separate deal? For a leased farm or nursery, the lease's length and renewal terms can matter more than anything else.
Inventory. Count and grade it with someone who knows plants. Buyers and sellers disagree most over what plants in the ground are worth, and pests or disease can lead to a stop-sale order.
Weather. Ask about hurricane and freeze damage, what was lost and what insurance or disaster programs paid.
Labor. How the business finds and pays seasonal workers, whether it uses a labor contractor or the federal H-2A visa program, and whether it follows housing and wage rules.
Water and environment. Compare what the permit allows with what's actually pumped, and look at fuel tanks, chemical storage and old dump spots. An environmental site assessment is common when land is part of the sale.
The building cycle. Nursery demand rises and falls with home and commercial construction.

Questions to ask the owner

Which plants or crops make you the most money, and which do you grow mostly out of habit?
Who are your biggest buyers, and how long have they been buying from you?
How did the place come through the last few hurricanes or freezes, and what did you change afterward?
Who grows the crop day to day, and would they stay on after a sale?
In a dry spring, how much water do you pump compared with what your permit allows?
When did the state plant inspector last come out, and did they find anything?
How do you find enough workers at your busiest time of year?
What would come with the business: the land, the equipment, the plants in the ground and in containers?

To learn what these companies do, which licenses they need and how ownership works, read our full guide to buying a farm, nursery or agricultural service business in Florida.

Owning a company in Orlando and Central Florida

The local economy

This region covers Orange, Seminole, Osceola, Lake, Sumter and Marion counties: Orlando, Winter Park, Kissimmee, St. Cloud, Sanford, Clermont, Leesburg, Ocala and the large retirement communities of Sumter and Lake counties. Tourism is what the area is best known for, built on the theme parks, the hotels, the vacation rental homes around Kissimmee and the Orange County Convention Center. It's far from the only business. The University of Central Florida and the military simulation and training offices near it support a technology base, and health care is a major employer.

Marion County is horse country, with thoroughbred farms around Ocala, and it has added warehouses and distribution centers along Interstate 75. Retirees in Sumter and Lake create steady demand for medical practices, home care, home maintenance and auto services. The building trades, restaurants, and companies that serve hotels and rental homes do well across the region.

What's different about owning a company here

Central Florida is inland, so storm surge isn't the worry it is on the coasts. Hurricanes still bring wind damage and flooding, though: Hurricane Ian flooded neighborhoods in Orange, Seminole and Osceola counties in 2022. Ask whether the business or its customers were affected.

Tourism keeps demand steadier through the year than in markets that depend on winter residents, with busy stretches around school holidays. Hotels, parks and restaurants compete hard for workers, which pushes up wages for any company that hires hourly staff. New homes have spread fast in Osceola, south Lake and southeast Orange counties and around Ocala, so check whether a company's customers are in growing areas or older ones. Traffic on Interstate 4 limits how much ground a service company can cover in a day.