The Economic Importance
of Food and Fiber
A Spotlight on Lowndes County, Georgia
Prepared for
Lowndes County Cooperative Extension
October, 2012
by:
The Center for Agribusiness
and Economic Development
College of Agricultural
and Environmental Sciences
The University of Georgia
Trends in Lowndes County:
Number of Farms
Number of Farms, Lowndes County
700
600
500
400
300
200
100
0
1978
1982
1987
1992
Source: 1978-2007 (quinquennial) Censuses of Agriculture
1997
2002
2007
Trends in Lowndes County:
Land in Farms, Harvested Cropland
& Farms by Size
Land in Farms & Harvested Cropland
Lowndes County
Percent of Farms by Size, 2007
Lowdes Co.
45
90000
Land in farms
Harvested cropland
40
80000
35
70000
30
60000
Georgia
25
50000
20
40000
30000
15
20000
10
10000
5
0
1992
1997
2002
2007
0
1-9 acres
Source: 1992-2007 (quinquennial) Censuses of Agriculture
10-49
acres
50-179
acres
180-499
acres
500-999
acres
1000+
acres
Food and Fiber Production and Directly Related
Manufacturing as % of Total Economic Output
0 - 10%
11 - 20%
21 - 30%
31 - 50%
51 – 77%
Agriculture in Georgia
 Georgia's 2010 Farm Gate Value was
$12.0 billion. Adding the value of $2.2
billion of landscape services increased
the total agricultural production value
to $14.2 billion.
 Total food and fiber production and
directly related businesses account for
a $68.9 billion output impact on
Georgia's $719.8 billion economy.
Production Agriculture: 2010
Dade
Catoosa
Towns
Fannin
Whitfield
Walker
Gilmer
White
Lumpkin
Ha
Gordon
Chattooga
be
rs
ha
m
Stephens
Pickens
Dawson
Cherokee
Bartow
Franklin
Banks
Hall
Floyd
Jackson
Polk
Barrow
Gwinnett
Cobb
Paulding
Madison
Oglethorpe
ck
da
le
Fulton
Lincoln
Wilkes
Walton
DeKalb
Douglas
Elbert
Clarke
Oconee
Haralson
Hart
Forsyth
Ro
Georgia Total
Agricultural
Production
Value
$14.2 Billion
Rabun
Union
Murray
Clayton
Carroll
Morgan
Newton
Fayette
Taliaferro
Columbia
McDuffie
Warren
Coweta
Heard
Pike
Hancock
Lamar
Meriwether
Richmond
Putnam
Jasper
Butts
Spalding
Troup
Greene
Henry
Glascock
Baldwin
Burke
Jefferson
Jones
Monroe
Washington
Upson
Bibb
Wilkinson
Jenkins
Crawford
Talbot
Twiggs
Emanuel
Peach
Taylor
ch
ee
Muscogee
Bulloch
Pulaski
Schley
Dodge
Dooly
Wheeler
Stewart
Webster
Sumter
Evans
Toombs
Bryan
Tattnall
Chatham
Wilcox
Telfair
Crisp
Quitman
$0 - $20
$20 - $45
$45 - $80
$80 - $200
$200 - $475
Liberty
Randolph
Terrell
Lee
Jeff Davis
Ben Hill
Long
Appling
Turner
Irwin
Clay
Dougherty
Calhoun
Worth
Coffee
Wayne
Bacon
McIntosh
Tift
Early
Pierce
Baker
Berrien
Mitchell
Miller
Atkinson
Brantley
Colquitt
Cook
Glynn
Ware
Lanier
Seminole
Decatur
Grady
Clinch
Thomas
Brooks
Lowndes
Echols
2010 Farm Gate Value by County
in Millions of Dollars
Effingham
ery
oo
Candler
Treutlen
Macon
Ch
at
ta
h
Laurens
Bleckley
Houston
Marion
Screven
Johnson
Montgom
Harris
Camden
Charlton
What We Know
about Lowndes County
 2010 Farm Gate Value in Lowndes
Co. was $59.5 million. Adding $17.6
million of landscape services
increased the total agricultural
production value to $77.1 million.
 The highest value commodity group
was row and forage crops,
representing 26.5% of the total
agricultural production value.
Lowndes County
2010 Agricultural Production Value
Poultry
0%
Other
9.2%
Row and Forage
Crops
26.5%
Livestock
14.9%
Forestry
6.9%
Fruits and Nuts
17.5%
Horticulture
11.5%
Vegetables
13.3%
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?
Lowndes County Economy
Agriculture OUTPUT
Output in $
Percent
Agriculture
77,148,481
1.03%
Mining
80,526,471
1.07%
367,246,218
4.89%
1,600,248,864
21.32%
Trans-Utilities-Info
582,772,187
7.77%
Trade
651,552,162
8.68%
Finance-Ins-RE
999,178,611
13.31%
1,497,679,614
19.96%
Construction
Manufacturing
Services
Govt. & non-NAICS
1,647,885,793
21.96%
Total County Economic Output = $7,504.2 million
Lowndes County Economy
Agriculture + Directly Related Businesses OUTPUT
Output in $
Agriculture + Direct
Percent
969,498,026
12.92%
80,526,471
1.07%
Construction
367,246,218
4.89%
Manufacturing
707,899,319
9.43%
Trans-Utilities-Info
582,772,187
7.77%
Trade
651,552,162
8.68%
Finance-Ins-Real Est
999,178,611
13.31%
1,497,679,614
19.96%
Mining
Services
Govt. & non-NAICS
1,647,885,793
21.96%
Total County Economic Output = $ 7,504.2 million
Lowndes County Employment
Total Jobs = 65,121
Construction
3029
4.7%
Manufacturing
2,265
3.5%
Trans-UtilitiesInfo
2,809
4.3%
Trade
9,243
14.2%
Mining
493
0.8%
Finance-Ins- Real
Est
3934
6.0%
Professional
Services
8,391
12.9%
AG + Directly
Related
2,724
4.2%
State & Federal
Government
11,274
17.3%
Public Education
6,410
9.8%
Primary data source: Center for Agribusiness & Economic Development, UGA
Other Services
14,550
22.3%
An Economic Snapshot
of Lowndes County
 How much of Lowndes County’s total
economic output comes from food and
fiber production?
 AG value alone of $77.1 million
consisting of Farm Gate Value and
landscape services comprises 1.5% of
the county’s economy.
 AG plus directly related businesses (ex.
Ag Support Services, Processing, etc.)
comprise 16.5% 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.
Labor
Seed
Utilities
Lowndes County
Agriculture IMPACT
Direct $
Agriculture
Indirect $
77,148,481
0
Mining
0
1,347
Construction
0
687,970
Manufacturing
0
1,295,162
Trans-Utilities-Info
0
4,948,170
Trade
0
4,873,831
Finance-Ins-Real Est
0
14,665,222
Services
0
11,576,815
Govt. & non-NAICS
0
1,074,293
Total
77,148,481
39,122,810
Total Impact of Production AG = $116.3 million
1.5% of total economy
Lowndes County
Production Agriculture + Directly Related Businesses IMPACT
Direct $
Agriculture + Direct
Mining
Construction
Manufacturing
Trans-Utilities-Info
Trade
Finance-Ins-Real Est
Services
Govt. & non-NAICS
Total
969,498,026
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
969,498,026
Indirect $
0
99,826
7,409,843
3,867,843
80,640,921
38,130,126
58,679,554
73,366,163
6,287,990
268,482,265
Total Impact of AG + Directly Related = $1,238.0 million
16.5% of total economy
Lowndes County
Production Agriculture + Directly Related Industries
Employment IMPACT
Direct
Agriculture + Direct
Indirect
1,048
0
Mining
0
0
Construction
0
6
Manufacturing
0
2
Trans-Utilities-Info
0
21
Trade
0
70
Finance-Ins-Real Est
0
57
Services
0
183
Govt. & non-NAICS
0
4
Total Impact of AG + Directly Related Employment = 4,841 Jobs
7.4% of total employment
What These Numbers Mean:
A Brief Explanation
 Direct impact is $969.5 million. This
includes food and fiber production,
processing and directly related
manufacturing.
 Indirect impact from related sectors is
$268.5 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.
Lowndes County Food and Fiber
Impact Conclusions
 The total impact of food and fiber
production, processing and direct
manufacturing is $1,238.0 million.
 The total county output is $7,504.2
million.
 Thus, food and fiber (directly and
indirectly) account for 16.5% of the
total county output, considering the
multiplier effects.
Contact Information
Prepared by:
Sharon P. Kane and Karen Stubbs
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”
Ag Profile Report
AP#12-16A