The Economic Importance of Food and Fiber

A Spotlight on Washington County, Georgia

Prepared for Washington County Cooperative Extension

June 2013

by: The Center for Agribusiness and Economic Development

College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences

The University of Georgia

Trends in Washington County: Number of Farms

0

100

200

300

400

500

1978 1982 1987 1992 1997 2002 2007

Number of Farms, Washington County

Source: 1978-2007 (quinquennial) Censuses of Agriculture

Trends in Washington County:

Land in Farms, Harvested Cropland & Farms by Size

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

1-9 acres 10-49acres

50-179acres

180-499acres

500-999acres

1000+acres

Percent of Farms by Size, 2007

Washington Co. Georgia

Source: 1992-2007 (quinquennial) Censuses of Agriculture

0

20000

40000

60000

80000

100000

120000

140000

1992 1997 2002 2007

Land in Farms & Harvested Cropland Washington County

Land in farms Harvested cropland

Food and Fiber Production Plus Directly Related Sectors as % of Total Economic Output

0 - 10%

10 - 20%

20 - 30%

30 - 45%

45 - 58%

Screven

Brantley

Bulloch

Wayne

Evans

Effingham

Long

Liberty

Bryan

Camden

Glynn

McIntosh

Chatham

Gordon

Bartow

Murray

Polk

Haralson

Dade

Walker

Chattooga

Floyd

Catoosa

Carroll

Paulding

Union

Lumpkin

Douglas

Cobb

Pickens

Cherokee

Fannin

Gilmer

Dawson

DeKalb

Forsyth

Gwinnett

Henry

Rabun

Newton

Towns

Hall

White

Walton

Barrow

Jackson

Franklin

Madison

Hart

Elbert

Oconee

Morgan

Banks

Stephens

Clarke

Putnam

Greene

Oglethorpe

Baldwin

Hancock

Lamar

Monroe

Bibb

Jones

ButtsJasper

Wilkinson

Harris

Muscogee

Talbot

Heard

Troup

Coweta

Meriwether

Fayette

Spalding

Pike

Upson

Taylor

Crawford

Peach

Houston

Twiggs

Bleckley

Pulaski

Sumter

Crisp

Schley

Macon

Dooly

Turner

Wilcox

Ben HillRandolph

Calhoun

Quitman

Stewart

Marion

Webster

Terrell

Dougherty

Lee

Worth

Tift

Colquitt

Seminole

Decatur

Early

Miller

Baker

Mitchell

Grady ThomasBrooks

Irwin

Cook

Dodge

Berrien

Lowndes

Laurens

Wilkes

Taliaferro

Johnson

Telfair

Washington

Warren

Coffee

Atkinson

Lanier

Lincoln

Wheeler

Echols

Jefferson

Clinch

Jeff Davis

Treutlen

Emanuel

Columbia

Toombs

Burke

Bacon

Ware

Richmond

Appling

Pierce

Candler

Tattnall

Jenkins

Charlton

Clayton

Whitfield

Fulton

Hab

ersh

am

Glascock

Montg

om

ery

McDuffie

Cha

ttaho

oche

e

Clay

Roc

kdal

e

Updated 1/16/13

Agriculture in Georgia

Georgia's 2011 Farm Gate Value was $13.0 billion. Adding the value of $2.1 billion of landscape services increased the total agricultural production value to $15.1 billion.

Total food and fiber production and directly related businesses account for a $71.1 billion output impact on Georgia's $763.6 billion economy.

What We Know about Washington County

2011 Farm Gate Value in Washington Co. was $38.5 million. Adding $1.6 million of landscape services increased the total agricultural production value to $40.1 million.

The highest value commodity group was row and forage crops, representing 43.2% of the total agricultural production value.

Washington County 2011 Agricultural Production Value

Row and Forage Crops 43.2%

Fruits-Nuts 10.6%

Vegetables 0.4%

Ornamental Horticulture

3.1%

Forestry 16.3%

Livestock 13.1%

Other 13.4%

What We Did County Economy Modeled

The Center for Agribusiness and Economic Development performed an analysis of the county’s economy, focusing on the role of food and fiber.

How much of the county’s total current

economic output comes from food and fiber production and directly related processing? (A Snapshot of the Economy)

What is the total (direct and indirect)

Impact of food and fiber production and directly related industries?

Washington County Economy Economy OUTPUT Distribution

Output in $ Percent

Agriculture 40,080,379 3.78%

Mining 45,113,122 4.26%

Construction 45,420,043 4.29%

Manufacturing 263,177,619 24.85%

Trans-Info-Publ.Util 132,280,770 12.49%

Trade 78,312,359 7.39%

Services 333,140,339 31.45%

Govt. & non-NAICS 121,676,724 11.49%

Total County Economic Output = $1,059.2 million

Washington County Economy Agriculture + Directly Related Businesses OUTPUT

Output in $ Percent

Agriculture + Direct 51,629,965 4.87%

Mining 45,113,122 4.26%

Construction 45,420,043 4.29%

Manufacturing 251,628,033 23.76%

Trans-Info-Publ.Util 132,280,770 12.49%

Trade 78,312,359 7.39%

Services 333,140,339 31.45%

Govt. & non-NAICS 121,676,724 11.49%

Total County Economic Output = $1,059.2 million

Washington County Employment Total Jobs = 9,456

AG + Directly Related

825 8.7%

Mining 188

2.0%

Construction 501

5.3%

Manufacturing 581

6.1%

Trans-Info-Publ.Util.

754 8.0%

Trade 1,035 10.9%

Services 3,242 34.3%

State & Federal Government

2,332 24.7%

Primary data source: Center for Agribusiness & Economic Development, UGA

An Economic Snapshot of Washington County

How much of Washington County’s total economic output comes from food and fiber production?

AG value alone of $40.1 million consisting of Farm Gate Value and landscape services comprises 3.78% of the county’s economy.

AG plus directly related businesses (ex. Ag Support Services, Processing, etc.) comprise 4.87% of the county’s economy.

What is the Impact?

What is the total (direct and indirect) impact of food and fiber production and directly related industries?

This scenario illustrates how other industries are affected by the presence of food and fiber in the county. The indirect impacts measure output created due to food and fiber production and processing in the county.

What Impact Means: A Brief Explanation

The impact numbers capture the ripple effects that food and fiber create in the county’s economy. Many other sectors rely in part on the existence of food and fiber for sales.

Utilities

Seed

Labor

Washington County Agriculture IMPACT

Direct $ Indirect $

Agriculture 40,080,379 0

Mining 0 18,525

Construction 0 288,100

Manufacturing 0 275,967

Trans-Info-Publ.Util. 0 1,546,814

Trade 0 975,644

Services 0 5,386,070

Govt. & non-NAICS 0 313,063

Total 40,080,379 8,804,183 Total Impact of Production AG = $48.9 million

4.6% of total economy

Washington County Production Agriculture + Directly Related Businesses IMPACT

Direct $ Indirect $

Agriculture 51,629,965 0

Mining 0 24,040

Construction 0 375,058

Manufacturing 0 282,493

Trans-Info-Publ.Util. 0 1,995,834

Trade 0 1,213,503

Services 0 6,300,741

Govt. & non-NAICS 0 347,276

Total 51,629,965 10,538,946 Total Impact of Production AG = $62.2 million

5.9% of total economy

What These Numbers Mean: A Brief Explanation

Direct impact is $51.6 million. This includes food and fiber production, processing and directly related manufacturing.

Indirect impact from related sectors is

$10.5 million. This captures the effects of farmers (direct source) buying supplies (seed, fertilizer, work boots) from local stores. These stores must increase their output to meet farmer demand.

What These Numbers Mean: A Brief Explanation (continued)

As local stores increase their output, they may demand more stock from local wholesalers (also in the Trade sector). Local wholesalers demand more from local manufacturers, thus increasing activity in the Manufacturing sector.

Local stores also hire employees to assist

farmers. They take home wages and buy groceries at the local store which increases demand there.

Washington County Food and Fiber

Impact Conclusions The total impact of food and fiber

production, processing and direct manufacturing is $62.2 million.

The total county output is $1,059.2

million. Thus, food and fiber (directly and

indirectly) account for 5.9% of the total county output, considering the multiplier effects.

Contact Information

Prepared by: Sharon P. Kane, Public Service Associate, Economist

Karen Stubbs, Research Professional Center for Agribusiness & Economic Development

Dr. Kent Wolfe, Director

“Adding Value to Georgia's Agricultural Economy

Through Research and Extension“

To learn more about your county, go to: http://www.caed.uga.edu/ ...click on “Resources”, then “Georgia Statistics System”