Recently, 36 food and agriculture groups released the ninth annual Feeding the Economy report, a farm-to-fork study of the entire agricultural supply chain. The report analyzes the robust direct and indirect economic contributions of one of America's most essential industries to U.S. jobs, wages, economic output, and taxes.
The 2025 report confirms the agriculture industry is at the heart of the U.S. economy, generating more than $9.5 trillion in economic value, which amounts to 18.7% of the overall national economy. While these findings highlight the enormous impact of the agriculture industry, this is a modest decrease compared to the 2024 report, when agriculture contributed more than $9.6 trillion to the economy, about 20% of total economic output.
Additional highlights from the 2025 Feeding the Economy report include:
*The agriculture industry has shown significant growth since the covid pandemic, increasing its economic output by close to 25% and demonstrating the industry's resilience and innovation amidst global supply chain challenges.
*Direct employment in food and agriculture has grown by more than 1 million jobs since 2020, contributing to overall American job growth and high U.S. employment rates.
*The United States exports nearly $183 billion annually in food and agriculture products, critical to the strength and growth of our industry.
Despite these considerable gains and notable contributions to the U.S. economy, certain emerging trends represent an industry under pressure. Direct and indirect industry wages have grown year-over-year but have failed to keep pace with inflation, reflecting nationwide economic stressors and the high cost of labor for employers. Additionally, the number of agricultural manufacturing jobs has fallen year-over-year and is down nearly 30,000 jobs since 2020.
EDITOR’S TAKE:
Not surprising to see the results of this new study. This report confirms and underscores what similar prior studies have found – agriculture is the heart of our national economy. Contributing $9.5 trillion to an overall GDP of $29.7 trillion is no small matter. It is a huge industry with many tenacles stretching from the grower to the kitchen table or restaurant. And guess what, it would not be possible without the farmer/rancher. That is one of the big reasons your CAD program goes right to where all of this economic activity begins. One thing that always appeals to farmers/ranchers is how to save money and get a better return on any investment – including the trucks they buy. AgPack® now offers them the opportunity to save over $45,000 on products and services they use around the farm or ranch. When buying that $60K or $70K truck, that’s a huge return on their truck investment. Make sure you visit about AgPack® when talking to that farm/ranch customer!
