The Feeding the Economy Report measures the downstream, off-the-farm economic impact of U.S. agriculture. Danny Munch, an economist with the American Farm Bureau Federation, said the report tracks three layers of impact.
"The first is direct activity, which includes the base level of food and ag production that is traditionally measured, but it also measures supply industries like transportation, finance, equipment manufacturing, inputs at that second stage, and then lastly, the ripple effects of those two stages on how wages are earned and spent throughout the rest of the system," Munch said.
Munch said when you combine those layers, ag supports about $10.4 trillion in economic output, or about one-fifth of the entire U.S. economy.
"Food and ag support about 49 million jobs, which is about 30 percent of total U.S. employment, or close to one in every three jobs nationwide," Munch said. "The interesting piece here is that where those jobs are. Less than two percent are on the farm, but when you add food manufacturing, wholesale, and retail, that adds another 24 million jobs, or about 15 percent of the workforce."
With the overall farm economy struggling, Munch said it’s vital to highlight the broad economic importance of agriculture in America.
"So, all the benefits we were talking about, jobs, wages, tax revenue, they're tied to where that production happens. If production shifts overseas due to cost pressures, regulatory burdens, or competitive challenges, that economic activity moves with it," Munch said. "So, it's not just about the food supply, it's about all these other jobs, tax revenue, and economic commerce that supports industries across every corner of every state."
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