701-566-9300This past week in the State Capitol, Gov. Kelly Armstrong, Agriculture Commissioner Doug Goehring, and Commerce Commissioner Chris Schilken, along with Dr. Greg Lardy, NDSU vice president for agricultural affairs, released NDSU’s new report on Agriculture’s Economic Contribution to North Dakota.
The report was the result of a study and analysis that was conducted by NDSU’s Department of Agribusiness and Applied Economics and the Center for Social Research, and was funded by the industry, including many of our agricultural groups comprised of farmers and ranchers.
The report concluded that North Dakota’s agriculture industry generates $41.3 billion annually in gross business volume, a substantial increase from the 2022 report which previously indicated a total $30.8 billion annual output. The $40.1 billion includes $26.0 billion from direct output and $15.3 billion from secondary output. This $41.3 billion, as a share of the state economy is 25.5% of total output, 20.7% of all employment, and 22.6% of labor income. In addition, our agricultural industry supports 123,360 jobs, including 46,620 direct jobs and $76,740 secondary jobs. Finally, the industry contributes $10.0 billion in labor income.
Dr. Lardy presented this report to a Joint Committee Meeting of the Senate and House agricultural committees on behalf of NDSU and our agricultural groups and this information resulted in a visible and positive reaction from those two committees. One legislator noted what great information this is and asked what the next step could be. That inquiry allowed Dr. Lardy the opportunity to suggest the idea of a subsequent meeting to use this valuable data, which was the intended goal of sharing this information with the joint legislative committees.
As our farmers and ranchers, thank you for all your hard work, risk and dedication which resulted in such a huge agricultural contribution for our state. Finally, a sincere thank you for allowing the Association to advocate for your interests.