A new report highlights the substantial economic impact the agriculture and food sector has on the country’s culture and commerce.
In the ninth annual Feeding the Economy report, agriculture boasts more than $9.5 trillion in economic value, or nearly 19% of the overall nation’s economy. While this number is significant, it is a slight decrease from 2024, when the industry contributed more than $9.6 trillion to the economy, or about 20% of total economic output.
The study measures the number of jobs in food and agriculture-related industries, wages, the value added and total output. The report also measures the economic impact of the suppliers that support the industries, and the industries supported by the induced spending of direct and supplier industries.
“Agriculture’s impact all the way through the economy is enormous,” said Roger Cryan, American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) chief economist. “The Feeding the Economy project helps show us how critical farming is to America’s economic and national security and to the well-being of the American people.”
The report analyzes the direct and indirect economic contributions of agriculture to U.S. jobs, wages, economic output and taxes.
Other highlights in the report include:
• Increasing agriculture’s economic output by close to 25% since the COVID-19 pandemic, showing the industry’s resilience and innovation even when confronted with global supply chain issues.
• Growing jobs by more than 1 million jobs since 2020, contributing to overall U.S. job growth and employment rates.
• Exporting nearly $183 billion in food and ag products.
However, the report notes that even with the considerable gains and contributions to the economy, some emerging trends show that the industry is under pressure. “Direct and indirect industry wages have grown year-over-year but have failed to keep pace with inflation, reflecting nationwide economic stressors and the high cost of labor for employers,” a news release read.
In addition, the number of agricultural manufacturing jobs has fallen year over year and is down nearly 30,000 jobs since 2020.
By the numbers
The food and ag industries directly support more than 24 million jobs, or 15% of U.S. employment. Millions of food scientists, production workers, logistics experts, truck drivers and engineers work in nearly 200,000 food manufacturing, processing and storage facilities. Products are transported to more than 1 million restaurant and foodservice locations, or to one of 200,000 retail food stores.
The report measures the total economic impact of the food and ag industries by including both the direct and indirect economic activity associated. For example, a farm equipment retailer might hire new employees because farmers are buying more tractors. This would be considered an indirect impact. When a retail associate spends their paycheck, an induced economic impact occurs.
“Economic activity started in food and agriculture industries generates output (and jobs) in hundreds of other industries, often in states far removed from the original economic activity,” the report said.
The food and ag sector directly impacts 24,043,079 jobs, with wages totaling more than $1.05 trillion. The output of the sector totals more than $4.02 trillion. The total economic impact when considering direct, supplier and induced economic impacts totals more than 47 million jobs, $2.8 trillion in wages and $9.5 trillion in output.
Table 1 presents a summary of the total economic impact of the food and agriculture industries in the U.S.
John Dunham & Associates conducted this research, which was funded by The Goodstone Group. The report is sponsored by three dozen food and agriculture industry groups, including AFBF and the Meat Institute. — Anna Miller, WLJ managing editor
