America’s food and agriculture sector is a thriving, integral component of the U.S. economy.
Today, 32 food and agriculture groups released the eighth annual Feeding the Economy report, a historic farm-to-fork economic impact study that estimates the direct and indirect economic contributions of the food and agriculture industries to jobs, wages, economic output, and business taxes.
It begins in the rich soil of America’s farms and ranches — nearly 2 million of them — spread across the heartland and stretching to the coasts, covering two out of every five American acres.
Meanwhile, millions of food scientists, production workers, logistics experts, truck drivers, and engineers work in more than 200,000 food manufacturing, processing, and storage facilities to keep our food supply chains strong and fresh, safe food readily available worldwide.
The journey may continue at one of the nation’s more than 1 million restaurant and foodservice locations. An item might make its way from one of approximately 200,000 retail food stores to American homes or gatherings where people enjoy the nation’s bounty.
The 2024 report’s findings show that the total economic impact for the food and agriculture-related industries grew 11.8 percent over the last year, reaching $9.63 trillion. This represents 20.01 percent of total U.S. output.
The study also drills down to highlight the impact of this sector to include:
- Total jobs: 48,665,870 (up 19.53% since the 2020 report)
- Total wages: $2.77 trillion (up 33.82% since the 2020 report)
- Total taxes: $1.25 trillion (up 36.91% since the 2020 report)
- Exports: $181.36 billion (down 2.70% since the 2020 report)
There were almost the same number of jobs in agriculture (2.49 million) and manufacturing agricultural products (2.46 million). The number of direct jobs in food and agriculture was up almost 800,000 since the 2020 report (up 20 percent).
According to the 2020 Feeding the Economy report, food and agriculture manufacturing jobs have grown faster than any other job category. As a result, manufacturing of agricultural production now accounts for almost 20 percent of America’s manufacturing jobs, over twice as many as automobile manufacturing.
“The Feeding the Economy report is an annual highlight of the strength and resilience of the U.S. food and agriculture sector, and its release continues to be an ideal way to celebrate National Agriculture Day,” NASDA CEO Ted McKinney said. “The report showcases the impact all workers in the food and agriculture industry — from the farm all the way to the plate — have on the U.S. economy. We are proud of the work done by all in the agriculture industry and our state departments of agriculture to feed the U.S. economy and supply a safe food supply for the U.S. and the world.”
The report shows the significant role that the food and agriculture sectors play in supporting the U.S. economy and helps the public and policymakers better understand how these industries continue to promote those contributions.
»Related: 2022 Census of Agriculture details major loss in farm numbers
