The Economic Importance
of Food and Fiber
A Spotlight on Habersham County, Georgia
Prepared for
Habersham County Cooperative Extension
December, 2008
by:
The Center for Agribusiness
and Economic Development
College of Agricultural
and Environmental Sciences
The University of Georgia
Total Population
Habersham County
45,035
44,362
42,272
2010 Trend CAED
2010 OPB Proj.
2007 Est.
35,902
2000
27,621
25,020
20,691
18,116
16,553
14,771
12,748
1990
1980
1970
1960
1950
1940
1930
0
10,000
20,000
30,000
40,000
Primary data sources: U.S. Census Bureau, decennial censuses & estimate; OPB (State Office of
Planning and Budget) CAED (Center for Agribusiness & Economic Development).
50,000
Population Change: 2000-2007
LOSS
0 – 7.2%
7.2 – 16.6%
16.6 – 39.0%
39.0 – 61.5%
Avg. GA
County = 9.9%
GA = 16.6%
US = 7.2%
Habersham
Co.
17.8%
Primary data source: U.S. Census Bureau (3/08)
Percent of Land in Cropland & Forestland: 2002
23 – 40%
40 – 55%
55 – 70%
70 – 85%
85% or more
GA Total = 78.5%
GA Avg. Co. = 77.3%
Metro Avg. Co. = 70.7%
Nonmetro Avg. Co. = 82.6%
Habersham
Co.
77.6%
Primary data sources:
U.S. Census of Agriculture, 2002
Forest Statistics for Georgia, 1997
Components of 2007 Property Tax Gross Digest
Habersham County
Residential
58.6%
Ag-PreferentialEnviron-Conserv
14.6%
Timber *
0.01%
Mobile Home
1.0%
Motor Vehicle
6.7%
Industrial
Public Utility
4.8%
3.4%
Primary data source:
GA Dept. of Revenue
Commercial
10.9%
40% Assessment Value of Property
Gross Digest = $1,422,525,967
COUNTY Homestead & Property Exemptions = $188,283,850
Net M&O Digest = $1,234,242,117
Value of exempt property = $149,013,144
* Timber taxed at 100% based on previous year sales
County Property Tax Digest Comparisons: 2007
County
% Resi- % Agri- % Comdential cultural mercial
% Industrial
%
% UtilMotor
ity
Veh
%
Mo- % Timbile
ber
Home
HABERSHAM 58.6
14.6
10.9
4.8
3.4 6.7 1.0 0.01
BANKS
36.6
35.9
12.6
3.6
3.2 6.7 1.2 0.04
HALL
56.3
7.3
16.6 11.3 1.7 6.4 0.4 0.002
RABUN
57.1
6.5
5.7
STEPHENS
56.7
6.4
13.2 11.6 3.7 7.2 1.1 0.05
TOWNS
78.4
8.0
8.1
0.1
1.1 3.8 0.5
Avg. GA Co.
42.4
23.8
12.7
7.0
5.0
Primary data source: GA Dept. of Revenue
1.8 25.6 2.9 0.3
7.2 1.1
0
0
0.9
Revenue : Expenditure Ratios
$ of Revenue for Each $ of Expenditure
$1.92
$2.86
Farm/Forest
$1.01
$1.18
$2.70
$3.19
$1.17
Commercial
$1.93
$1.25
$3.45
Residential
$0.00
Cherokee
Jones
Carroll
Oconee
US Avg
$0.64
$0.87
$0.83
$0.90
$0.87
$1.00
$2.00
$3.00
Dorfman, Jeffery, The Economics of Growth, Sprawl and Land Use Decisions (presentation), Dept. of Ag &
Applied Economics, UGA, January 2004.
$4.00
Agriculture in Georgia
¾ Georgia's 2007 Farm Gate Value was
$11.6 billion. Adding the value of
landscape services increased the total
agricultural production value to $13.6
billion.
¾ Total food and fiber production and
directly related businesses account for
a $59 billion output impact on
Georgia's $735 billion economy.
Production Agriculture: 2007
Georgia Total
Agricultural
Production Value
$13.6 Billion
Landscape
services
Fruits & Nuts
15.3%
1.8%
Poultry &
Eggs
39.8%
Forestry &
Products
4.4%
Other Income
4.5%
Livestock &
Ornamental
Aquaculture
Horticulture
9.8%
Vegetables
5.6%
6.6%
Row &
Forage Crops
12.3%
$0 - $20
$20 - $45
$45 - $80
$80 - $200
$200 - $390
2007 Farm Gate
Value by County
in Millions of Dollars
What We Know
about Habersham County
¾ 2007 Farm Gate Value in Habersham
Co. was $299 million. Adding $3
million of landscape services
increased the total agricultural
production value to $302 million.
¾ The highest value commodity group
was poultry/eggs, representing
89.8% of the total agricultural
production value.
Habersham County
2007 Agricultural Production Value
2007 Agricultural Production
Vegetables
Orn Hort
0.4%
1.6%
LivestockForestry
Aquaculture
0.3%
4.2%
Fruits-Nuts
0.2%
Other
1.5%
Row-Forage
crops
0.9%
Poultry-Eggs
89.8%
Landscape
services
1.0%
2007 Top Farm Gate Commodities
Greenhouse
Ag-Tourism 0.7%
Horses
1.5%
1.4%
Beef
Layers
1.7%
8.0%
Turfgrass
Container
0.4%
Nursery
Pork
0.4%
0.5%
Rest of
Commodities
2.7%
Breeder Pullet
Unit
8.4%
Total AG Value = $3.05 million
Broilers
74.3%
Trends in Habersham County:
Number of Farms & Average Farm Size
Number of Farms, Habersham County
Average Farm Size
300
1600
Habersham Co.
Georgia
218
1400
1200
Acres
200
1000
800
600
517
75
100
400
200
Source: 1945-2002 (quinquennial) Censuses of Agriculture
R
02
20
97
92
19
19
87
19
78
82
19
19
69
74
19
19
59
64
19
19
54
19
19
1945 1949 1954 1959 1964 1969 1974 1978 1982 1987 1992 1997R 2002
19
45
0
49
0
Trends in Habersham County:
Land in Farms & Farms by Size
Land in Farms
Habersham County
Percent of Farms by Size, 2002
300
A cres X 1,000
120
Habersham Co.
Georgia
250
100
200
80
150
60
38.526
40
20
100
50
0
9
19 2
97
R
20
02
87
19
82
19
78
19
74
19
69
19
64
19
59
19
54
19
19
50
19
19
45
0
1-9 acres
Source: 1945-2002 (quinquennial) Censuses of Agriculture
10-49
acres
50-179
acres
180-499 500-999
acres
acres
1000+
acres
Trends in Habersham County
Number of Farms by Commodity
300
278
1987
1992
1997
2002
250
200
150
150
100
50
27
0
Beef Cows
Hay
Source: 1987-2002 (quinquennial) Censuses of Agriculture
Layers, 20 wks
How Do We Compare ?
Georgia, Habersham and Surrounding Counties
Farm Gate Value
$ Per Farm (thousands)
$ Per Acre
$8,000
$7,000
$6,000
$7,754
$5,000
$4,324
$4,000
$3,866
$3,000
$2,000
$1,000
$2,037
$1,076
$235
$3,317
$578
$407
$286
$139
$0
a
am
rgi
h
o
s
er
Ge
b
Ha
ks
n
Ba
ll
Ha
n
bu
a
R
s
en
h
p
Ste
Sources: 2002 Census of Agriculture and 2007 Farm Gate Value Report
$272
What We Did
County Economy Modeled
¾ The Center for Agribusiness and Economic
Development performed an analysis of the
county’s economy, focusing on the role of
food and fiber.
¾ 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)
¾ What is the total (direct and indirect) Impact
of food and fiber production and directly
related industries?
Habersham County Economy
Agriculture OUTPUT
Output in $ Millions
301.788
2.419
126.532
793.657
136.522
146.064
202.085
347.751
164.945
Percent
13.6%
0.1%
5.7%
35.7%
6.1%
6.6%
9.1%
15.7%
7.4%
Agriculture
Mining
Construction
Manufacturing
Trans-Utilities-Info
Trade
Finance-Ins-RE
Services
Government
Total County Economic Output = $2.2 Billion
Habersham County Economy
Agriculture + Directly Related Businesses OUTPUT
Output in $ Millions
Percent
524.795
23.6%
Agriculture + Direct
2.419
0.1%
Mining
126.532
5.7%
Construction
570.649
25.7%
Manufacturing
136.522
6.1%
Trans-Utilities-Info
146.064
6.6%
Trade
202.085
9.1%
Finance-Ins-Real Est
347.751
15.7%
Services
164.945
7.4%
Government
Total County Economic Output = $2.2 Billion
Habersham County Employment
Total Jobs = 17,763
Mining
25
0.1%
Construction
1,077
6.1%
Manufacturing
2,389
13.4%
AG + Directly
Related
2,013
11.3%
Trade
2,194
12.4%
State & Federal
Government
1,318
7.4%
Public
Education
1,865
10.5%
Trans-UtilitiesInfo
729
4.1%
Finance-InsReal Est
909
5.1%
Other Services
3,146
17.7%
Professional
Services
2,098
11.8%
Primary data source: Center for Agribusiness & Economic Development, UGA
An Economic Snapshot
of Habersham County
¾ How much of Habersham County’s total
economic output comes from food and
fiber production?
¾ AG value alone of $301.8 million
consisting of Farm Gate Value and
landscape services comprises 13.6% of
the county’s economy.
¾ AG plus directly related businesses (ex.
poultry processing, sawmills, etc.)
comprise 23.6% of the county’s economy.
Food and Fiber Production and Directly Related
Manufacturing as % of Total Output
0 - 10%
10 - 20%
20 - 30%
30 - 50%
50 – 77%
Habersham
Co.
23.6%
What is the Impact?
¾What is the total (direct and indirect)
impact of food and fiber production and
directly related industries?
¾This 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
¾ 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
Habersham County
Agriculture IMPACT
Direct $ Millions
Indirect $ Millions
301.788
0
Agriculture
0
0.037
Mining
0
1.349
Construction
0
2.264
Manufacturing
0
11.888
Trans-Utilities-Info
0
6.530
Trade
0
9.681
Finance-Ins-Real Est
0
20.870
Services
0
0.771
Government
301.788
53.390
Total
Total Impact of Production AG = $355.2 million
16.0% of total economy
Habersham County
Production Agriculture + Directly Related Businesses IMPACT
Agriculture + Direct
Mining
Construction
Manufacturing
Trans-Utilities-Info
Trade
Finance-Ins-Real Est
Services
Government
Total
Direct $ Millions
Indirect $ Millions
524.795
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
524.795
0
0.066
2.401
5.270
24.393
12.842
19.345
44.267
1.794
110.377
Total Impact of AG + Directly Related = $635.2 million
28.6% of total economy
Habersham County
Production Agriculture + Directly Related Industries
Employment IMPACT
Direct
Indirect
2,013
0
Agriculture + Direct
0
27
Construction
0
25
Manufacturing
0
162
Trans-Utilities-Info
0
172
Trade
0
96
Finance-Ins-Real Est
0
603
Services
0
11
Government
Total Impact of AG + Directly Related Employment = 3,108 Jobs
17.5% of total employment
What These Numbers Mean:
A Brief Explanation
¾ Direct impact is $524.8 million. This
includes food and fiber production,
processing and directly related
manufacturing.
¾ Indirect impact from the Trade sector is
$12.8 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)
¾ 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.
¾ Local stores also hire employees to assist
farmers. They take home wages and buy
groceries at the local store which
increases demand there.
Habersham County Food and Fiber
Impact Conclusions
¾ The total impact of food and fiber
production, processing and direct
manufacturing is $635.2 million.
¾ The total county output is $2.2 Billion.
¾ Thus, food and fiber (directly and
indirectly) account for 28.6% of the
total county output.
Food and Fiber Production and Directly Related
Manufacturing IMPACT as % of Total Output
0 - 10%
10 - 25%
25 - 40%
40 - 60%
60 - 84%
Habersham
Co.
28.6%
Contact Information
Prepared by:
Sue Boatright and Archie Flanders
Center for Agribusiness & Economic Development
“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 “Georgia Statistics System”
Special County Area Report
#08-33A
December, 2008