Agriculture and forestry contribute over $37 billion in value to the Minnesota economy and create nearly 400,000 jobs. Twenty-five major agricultural stakeholder groups funded this new economic contribution study. This research identified Hennepin, Ramsey and Dakota Counties as the top three counties in the state for value-added contributions from agriculture. AgriGrowth Executive Director Tamara Nelsen says that reflects the number of corporate headquarters and processing companies in the metro. “I think metro legislators, especially new ones, are going to find it interesting to learn how agriculture and food affect their local area, perhaps in a way that they haven’t seen it before.” This study also evaluated big picture items, including COVID-19 “and we’re all quite proud how quickly turkey, pork and cattle processing came back and we see that as a great sign of strength.” This is the first time a comprehensive evaluation like this has been done in Minnesota for agriculture and forestry.
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