Nearly 1.3M jobs, $69B in wages supported by MI food and agriculture industries

Sponsored by 32 food and ag groups — including AFBF — the eighth annual Feeding the Economy report estimates the direct and indirect economic contributions of the food and agriculture industries on jobs, wages, economic output, and business taxes. Image credit: Courtesy photos

Date Posted: March 19, 2024

Michigan Farm Bureau

The food and agriculture industries support 1,292,344 jobs in Michigan while creating $68.8 billion in wages, according to the latest Feeding the Economy report.

Released March 19 in conjunction with National Ag Day, the report details national, state and county-level estimates for the direct and indirect economic contributions of the industries.

Chart depicting the economic impact of Michigan agriculture on the food economy.

In addition to impressive jobs and wages, Michigan’s food and agriculture industries contribute an estimated $29 billion in taxes.

In total, the industries’ total output in Michigan is estimated to be $246.55 billion.

“The report again confirms that agriculture and food is a key economic driver in the prosperity of Michigan,” said Loren Koeman, Michigan Farm Bureau lead economist.

“The starting point of all that activity is the diversity, abundance, and efficiency of Michigan’s farms. Michigan farm families are proud to be the backbone of one of the largest industries in the state, while providing healthy and delicious food for Michigan, the U.S. and world with over $2.5 billion dollars in exports.”

For the study, the food industry includes any business involved in food agriculture, food manufacturing, food wholesaling, and food retailing.

Nationally, the report shows that the total economic impact for the food and agriculture-related industries grew 11.8% over the last year, reaching $9.63 trillion — representing 20.01% of total U.S. output.

Meanwhile, jobs in the food and ag sectors have grown by nearly 20% since the 2020 report, now totaling 48.6 million in the U.S. The total number of direct jobs in agriculture has also grown by 800,000 since the 2020 report, representing a 20% increase.

From the 2020 Feeding the Economy report to now, food and ag manufacturing jobs grew at a faster rate than any other job category. As a result, manufacturing of agricultural production now accounts for almost 20% of America’s manufacturing jobs, over twice as many as automobile manufacturing.

Wages have grown exponentially as well, jumping to $2.77 trillion nationally — an increase of nearly 34% since the 2020 report — while total taxes generated by the industries have also increased by nearly 37% to $1.25 trillion.

Learn more about the report here.