Agriculture: An Economic Powerhouse
A few weeks ago, I took a very critical look at the first 100 days of Donald Trump’s agricultural policies. However, one thing that I didn’t touch on was how American agriculture is an outstanding asset to one of the biggest focuses of Trump’s platform: growing the economy. Times in the United States haven’t been the easiest for the past decade or so. A period coined The Great Recession, which began in December of 2007, was marked by a blow to the housing market, hits to both consumer and financial markets, business investment collapse, and, between 2008 and 2009 alone, 8.4 million jobs were lost, which accounted for 6.1% of all payroll employment.
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Although things have started to turn around, a long, hard path must be taken before a complete recovery is accomplished. That being said, agriculture has undoubtedly done more than it’s fair share of good, and serves as a shining example of a sector. Here are some statistics that reveal how agriculture is one of our most important economic resources:
- Agriculture represented a 5.5% share of US gross domestic product (GDP) in 2005, with $992 billion—this does not include the fishing, forestry, textile, or leather industries
- From farms specifically, $136.7 billion was added to the GDP representing about 1%
- In 2012, total farm cash receipts exceeded $390 billion—this included $219.6 billion from crops and $171.7 billion from livestock
- In 2012, net income from all American farmers was $112.8 billion after production costs—this is 125% higher than in 2002
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- Out of all manufacturing jobs in the US, food manufacturing accounts for 14% with 1.5 million people
- Almost 1/4 ag exports in 2012 consisted of grains and feeds bringing in $32 billion—soybeans alone brought in $25 billion making up 17.5% of exports
- Almost 10% of 2012 agricultural exports were red meat sales
- Since 1990, shares of beef exported have risen by 5%, poultry shares have risen by 13.7%, and pork shares have risen by a whopping 21.5%
- The value of live animals in agriculture rose by 42% between 2009 and 2013—the value of red meat products has risen by 50% in that same time span
- In 2012, the fruit production industry was rated at a $6.5 billion value, vegetable production at a $6.2 billion
- Food and nutrition assistance accounts for 48% (the largest category) of USDA outlay expenditures
- In 2012, cotton and linters accounted 4.4% of export shares
- The average American household budgets 13% of their income for food, which accounts for 12.5% of household expenditures
It’s no secret that more agricultural workers are needed. In my article Farm to Table: The Broken Path, I explored how the average American is three generations removed from the farm and the average age of an American farmer is 59 years. Evidence of this disconnect is all around us—people do not appreciate the sector that provides them with food, clothes, and resources. Furthermore, I know that I don’t stand alone when I say that American farmers get horribly underpaid for the amount of good they do. However, agriculture should not be overlooked—it’s a huge asset. These economic statistics prove that ag’s value resides just as much in the revenue used to buy products, as the act of producing them.
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Sources
Glaser, Lewrene, and Rosanna Mentzer Morrison. "Ag and Food Sectors and the Economy."USDA ERS - Ag and Food Sectors and
the Economy. USDA, 15 Feb. 2017. Web. 05 Apr. 2017.
"The Great Recession." State of Working America. Economic Policy Institute, n.d. Web. 05 Apr. 2017.
Jänis, Marja. "Domestication and Foreignisation in Translation Studies." Across Languages and Cultures 13.1 (2012): 123-25. JEC.
US Congress Joint Economic Committee, Sept. 2013. Web. 5 Apr. 2017.
Glaser, Lewrene, and Rosanna Mentzer Morrison. "Ag and Food Sectors and the Economy."USDA ERS - Ag and Food Sectors and
the Economy. USDA, 15 Feb. 2017. Web. 05 Apr. 2017.
"The Great Recession." State of Working America. Economic Policy Institute, n.d. Web. 05 Apr. 2017.
Jänis, Marja. "Domestication and Foreignisation in Translation Studies." Across Languages and Cultures 13.1 (2012): 123-25. JEC.
US Congress Joint Economic Committee, Sept. 2013. Web. 5 Apr. 2017.
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