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compiled by Susie Taylor

Ohio's food and agriculture-related cluster contributed $79.6 billion to the state's economic output in 2000, according to an Ohio State University research report. That cluster also provided 15 percent of Ohio's employment and 9 percent of total Ohio income.

Contributions for the report are based on the "Food and Related Agricultural Cluster" consisting of five categories: farm inputs and machinery; farming; processing; food and forestry wholesale/retail; and food services. The report highlights these areas and tracks the output of each industry throughout the complex economy.

The dollar amounts of the agriculture cluster change each year, but the percentage of contribution to the state's economy changes very slowly, according to Tom Sporleder, an agricultural economist and the report's researcher. This is because the Ohio Food model is based on structural underlying relationships in the economy, he said.

Ohio's gross state product (GSP) is a frequently used measure of economic activity, said Sporleder, who also is a professor and farm income enhancement endowed chair in the Department of Agricultural, Environmental and Development Economics. The food and agriculture cluster contributed $36.5 billion, or 10 percent, to Ohio's gross state product for 2000.

"GSP looks solely at the end product when all the value has been added," Sporleder said. "It is a common metric used for measuring economic activity."

The new report indicated a growth in nursery and horticulture industries and a decrease in livestock production. These changes illustrate the urban trends common to Ohio, Sporleder said. The nursery and horticulture industry now accounts for about 42 percent of agricultural production, contributing about $1 billion to the GSP. This is compared to 23 percent of agricultural production in 1995.

"The statistics in this report reiterate the importance of agriculture and agriculturally related industries as a cornerstone of our state’s economy," according to Kurt Ely, vice president of Information, Education and Community Services for the Ohio Farm Bureau. "Organizationally we are continually looking for ways to add value to our state's agricultural sectors, which will, in turn, provide economic benefits to all Ohioans."

The entire food and agriculture complex accounted for more than 1 million, or about one in every seven, jobs in Ohio in 2000. Employment within the cluster comes primarily from the food services sector and the food and forestry wholesale/retail sector. These sectors employed just less than 720,000 Ohioans in 2000. This accounts for 79 percent of those employed by the agriculture cluster and 10 percent of Ohio's overall employment.

Significant employment is expected from these areas, Sporleder said. Food services and food and forestry sales sectors are labor-intensive, dealing more with final consumers and services.

"The food and ag-related cluster contributes roughly $1 in every $10 of the gross state product, which is a substantial contribution," Sporleder said. "It also contributes 15 percent of the total employment – essentially one out of every seven jobs. This shows that the food and agriculture-related cluster continues to be a vital and vibrant part of the state's economy. The results also show that the food processing sector continues to play an important role in Ohio's economy."