WASHINGTON—A newly released report found that the total economic output for food and agriculture-related industries in the U.S. grew 11.8% over the last year, reaching $9.63 trillion.

The eighth annual Feeding the Economy report said food and agriculture’s contributions represent 20% of total U.S. economic output.

“The agricultural supply chain is everywhere,” noted Roger Cryan, chief economist for the American Farm Bureau Federation, one of the 32 organizations that sponsored the report. “It’s critically important to the economy, let alone how important it is just to feed and clothe people. Numbers like this can help drive home to everybody in every state the importance to them of the agricultural economy.”

Feeding the Economy analyzes the direct and indirect impact of food and agriculture on jobs, wages, economic output and business taxes.

The report found that nationally, the two sectors created 48.67 million jobs—up 19.53% since the 2020 report. Total wages from food and agriculture were $2.77 trillion, up 33.82% from 2020. Business taxes were up $1.25 trillion, a 36.91% increase since the 2020 report. And exports were $181.36 billion, down 2.7% since 2020.

In Virginia, the report found, food and agriculture created 1.06 million jobs, $53.6 billion in wages, $26.1 billion in business taxes and $3.2 billion in exports.

Results also revealed that nationally, the number of direct jobs in food and agriculture was up almost 800,000 since the 2020 report.

Additionally, from the previous report to now, food and agriculture manufacturing jobs grew at a faster rate than any other job category. As a result, agricultural production now accounts for almost 20% of America’s manufacturing jobs, over twice as many as automobile manufacturing.

The direct impact is measured by the output of nearly 2 million farms and ranches across the U.S. Indirect benefits come from food scientists, production workers, logistics experts, truck drivers and engineers that work in more than 200,000 food manufacturing, processing and storage facilities, the report said. These jobs keep food supply chains strong and ensure that fresh, safe food is available worldwide.

When including the nation’s more than 1 million restaurant and foodservice locations and the 200,000 retail food stores, the impact is multiplied even more. And economic benefits continue as workers in the food and agriculture industries spend their income, supporting both rural and urban localities.

In addition to national and state data, the Feeding the Economy report breaks down county-level results for each state. For more information, visit feedingtheeconomy.com.

Media: Contact Cryan at 202-406-3729.