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The state has seen an increase of $5 billion in five years, according to a new study.

Mindy Ward, Editor, Missouri Ruralist

December 2, 2021

2 Min Read
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AG IMPACT: The Missouri Department of Agriculture, working with Decisions Innovation Solutions, unveiled the new value of agriculture to the state of Missouri during the Governor's Conference on Agriculture in November. That number rose to $93.7 billion.Mindy Ward

While other states saw a drop in agriculture’s economic contributions, Missouri saw an increase of more than $5 billion in five years, according to a new extensive study.

For Missouri Department of Agriculture Director Chris Chinn, the preliminary study confirms the fact that agriculture is the state’s No. 1 industry, she told a group gathered for the Missouri Governor’s Conference on Agriculture.

Spencer Parkinson, executive director of Iowa-based Decisions Innovation Solutions, presented the data from the study during the November conference. The new number incorporates crops, livestock, forestry and fishery production; agriculture inputs and services; and other sectors that rely on agriculture.

He explained two key study variables:

1. Output (sales). This is the measure of economic activity that includes the value of all goods sold.

2. Value added. This is sales (output) minus the cost of inputs.

“This study is called an economic contribution analysis,” Parkinson explains. “We are interested in understanding what Missouri agriculture and forestry currently contributes to the overall economy.”

Increase in all ag sectors

According to the study, in 2020, agriculture, forestry and related industries in Missouri contributed:

  • $93.7 billion output (up $5.3 billion — $34.9 billion in value added, plus $55.4 billion in inputs)

  • $34.9 billion value added (up $1.9 billion)

  • 456,618 jobs (up 78,386 jobs)

  • $31.8 billion in household income

Of the $93.7 billion output from the agriculture, forestry and related economic output:

  • Crops production and related industries contributed $15.6 billion.

  • Livestock and related industries contributed $29.7 billion.

  • Forestry products manufacturing contributed $11.2 billion.

  • Other ag industries contributed $37.3 billion.

Tracking of economics

An early study, completed in 2016, came about after years of the agriculture industry hearing that estimates regarding direct-production agriculture such as crops, livestock and forestry products were about $12.5 billion. The study found that number was way off the mark as the real economic impact was $88 billion.

That study was used for the past five years to educate both consumers and legislators about the importance of agriculture to the state.

About the Author(s)

Mindy Ward

Editor, Missouri Ruralist

Mindy resides on a small farm just outside of Holstein, Mo, about 80 miles southwest of St. Louis.

After graduating from the University of Missouri-Columbia with a bachelor’s degree in agricultural journalism, she worked briefly at a public relations firm in Kansas City. Her husband’s career led the couple north to Minnesota.

There, she reported on large-scale production of corn, soybeans, sugar beets, and dairy, as well as, biofuels for The Land. After 10 years, the couple returned to Missouri and she began covering agriculture in the Show-Me State.

“In all my 15 years of writing about agriculture, I have found some of the most progressive thinkers are farmers,” she says. “They are constantly searching for ways to do more with less, improve their land and leave their legacy to the next generation.”

Mindy and her husband, Stacy, together with their daughters, Elisa and Cassidy, operate Showtime Farms in southern Warren County. The family spends a great deal of time caring for and showing Dorset, Oxford and crossbred sheep.

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