November 3, 2001
             Period # 5
             Okeechobee County
             Okeechobee County was created in 1917 from Osceola, Palm Beach, and St. Lucie
             Counties. It is positioned in south central Florida, just west of the Fort Pierce region and
             is named for the great lake that it surrounds. The chief industry is agriculture, and the
             farms generate a huge amount of winter vegetables due to the natural soils of the county.
             Beside agriculture and dairying, Okeechobee County has a very little industry of any
             kind. The county is home to many local animals and plants sustained by the distinctive
             environment surrounding Lake Okeechobee.
             Lake Okeechobee is the second major freshwater lake within the United States. It is
             not very deep, with an average depth of only 14 feet. Fishing is a year round business.
             This lake has an outer surface area of 730 square miles. Its size is 448,000 acres and can
             hold about 1.05 trillion gallons of water. The chief sources of inflow to the lake is
             precipitation making up 39 percent, the Kissimmee River, which contributes 31 percent,
             and the Harney Pond and Indian Prairie Fish Eating and Taylor Creeks add 30 percent.
             Okeechobee County's financial system is supported by agriculture. The counties
             principal industries are dairy and beef livestock. The county's yearly income from the
             agriculture industry is around $ 149,681,000. The county has 418 farms with 72,712
             acres under cultivation and grazing land. With 133,000 heads of cattle the county ranks
             first in the state. The county also ranks first in the number of dairy cows, with 23 dairies
             having 32,000 dairy cows. These dairies generate 54,688,000 gallons of milk per year,
             which is three times in excess than any other county in Florida. In modern years, fa
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