AGRICULTURE BIG IMPACT NDSU study: Agriculture contributes $30.8 billion,

100,000 jobs to ND economy

New soybean crushing plants near Jamestown and Casselton. Canola being approved as a feedstock for renewable diesel. A possible move to year-round E15.

It’s safe to say value-added agriculture is trending up in North Dakota, and measuring its impact is important, according to North Dakota State University research scientists Dean Bangsund and Nancy Hodur.

The state received a good look in December, when the two published a study on the economic contributions of agriculture to North Dakota.

The results? A contribution of nearly $31 billion to the state’s economy to go with over 110,000 jobs. North Dakota Farmers Union was one of 11 agriculture groups to sponsor the study.

“It’s valuable for the public to really understand the breadth of contribution this industry has to the state,” said Bangsund, who has been conducting studies for over 30 years. “You can’t travel North Dakota without seeing agriculture, even in our bigger cities where we have a number of processing facilities.”

The numbers speak for themselves: 28.4% of the state’s gross business volume, 19.2% of all employment, 20.6% of labor income, 24.2% of state gross product and 9% of total state and local government revenues.

“When you look at 30.8 billion in total economic contribution and over 110,000 jobs — it’s a big deal in North Dakota,” Hodur said. “It really articulates that the industry is much more than just the farm gate. There’s so much interwoven, not just in our rural communities but in our cities. It’s not just crops and cows. You’ve got transportation, value-added and more. This just helps demonstrate that and tell that story.”

While crop production makes up 52% of gross business volume, value-added processing accounts for 27% — a number sure to grow with expansion in the state. ADM’s $350 million soybean crushing plant is underway in Spiritwood, while North Dakota Soybean Processors is building a soybean crushing plant in Casselton.

Hodur — who’s been doing economic studies for 22 years — said it’s especially important for measuring value-added growth over the next decade.

“It provides a baseline with which we can measure changes going forward,” she said. “It’s very good possibility that the value-added component is going to see some changes in the next few years. Now we’ve got a baseline and a tool and a methodology with which to measure that.”

Said Bangsund, “There are some exciting things being discussed with processing. I think the industry will want to take another look at this, whether that’s in a few years or around the corner. There’s a lot of value here.”

Both researchers said the study is far more comprehensive than past ag studies in North Dakota, but there are still numbers for which they’d like to see a few more details, particularly from agribusiness.

“Farm equipment (numbers) from implements is one area where we struggled a little bit,” Hodur said. “At the same time, I think that’s probably a fairly small hole.”

Bangsund said he hopes that improves going forward as more in the industry understand the