Nearly 29,000 residents are employed in the county's Thoroughbred industry alone. Florida-Bred Beautiful Pleasure was named the North American Champion Older Female in 1999. Marion County is known not only for its horses, but other livestock as well. It is one of Florida's main cattle-producing areas as well as hog, sheep, and chicken production. A wide variety of crops thrive on more than a million acres of county farmland.
Farms produce blueberries, cantaloupe, peanuts, watermelons, wheat, corn, soybeans, and hay.
Honey production is a thriving business. Nearly 2,000 county residents are employed in agriculture. Up until 1970, when the county's population was less than 70,000, agriculture, citrus groves, timber and cattle were the foundation on which the area's economy was based. Raising crops and livestock are still important factors in the economic equation, but today industry, the breeding of horses and tourism account for the most dramatic growth. Transportation Marion County is often called the crossroads of Florida.