Crushing plants and vegetables in a high tech extraction process for their juices. Cloning soil-less plants in a clean room environment. Such innovations are part of a hot new industry, dubbed agro-technology, that is fast taking root in Metro Orlando. In fact, out of the three states in the U.S. recognized as major agrotech industry contenders – Florida, Texas and California – Florida is emerging as the place to be.

In Metro Orlando, in particular, the region’s roots in agriculture, combined with an established and growing technology industry base, have prompted an agrotech boom that is integrating high tech processes for use in everything from industrial food ingredients, to cosmetics, to plant reproduction. This area is the top in the state for the agricultural and natural resources industries, which had statewide sales of $35 billion and employed more than 336,000 Floridians in 2003.

Metro Orlando is home to a family of growing agrotech companies that are leaders in the field. They include the following.

• U.S. Nutra. The core business of this Lake County-headquartered company is the extraction of oils from plants for medical and botanical applications using a super high pressurization process. In fact, U.S. Nutra is the world’s largest extraction processor of saw palmetto used in vitamin supplements. Saw palmetto has been proven to decrease prostate enlargement. And, thanks to two significant societal factors: (1) a growing number of health conscious consumers who are looking at labels for natural ingredients; and (2) a rise in the number of doctors recommending herbals over medicines, business has been steadily mounting for U.S. Nutra, whose clients include top dietary supplement companies.

• Florida Food Products. This 50+-year-old family owned company has evolved from a local citrus processor to a top international supplier of food and cosmetic ingredients. FFP, which pioneered the aloe vera and carrot juice concentrate business and contributed to the V8 Splash formula, extracts water from vegetables for use in food colors, flavors and neutraceuticals. Through a high tech process that involves liquid solid separation, microfiltration, proprietary cold evaporation and vacuum freeze drying techniques, the company delivers products in powders and concentrates to many national clients in the food and consumer product industries. FFP is also engaged in research and development, including color-tweaking the sweet potato, developing a natural meat reddener (which replaces nitrates) and creating a watermelon concentrate used to kill rootworm in corn crops.

• AgriStarts. A leader in tissue culturing (or plant production), the company is the world’s largest cloner of plants and vegetables that go to nurseries and greenhouses. In addition to traditional plant production processes, such as splicing plants and re-growing them in soil, AgriStarts grows ultra-sterile, soil-less plants in a cleanroom-like environment. And, because the plants are soil-less, they meet international customs regulations and can be shipped worldwide. Even more impressive, this process has proven to get hard-to-grow plants to produce seeds…turning one plant into 100 using its DNA. AgriStarts, which has the capability of producing nine million plants per year, reproduces fruit-bearing plants for Dole and Chiquita.

Many other agrotech companies growing throughout the Orlando region, and significant research and development is happening at UCF, as well as at other important research facilities. Both business and government leaders in Metro Orlando recognize the value and potential of agrotechnology. They are currently “growing” their own plans: to continue to expand this important new industry here.