ARLINGTON, Va. — The value that meat and poultry processors have on the U.S. economy is measured in billions of dollars, not millions.
In a new economic study sponsored by the Meat Institute, it reports that meat and poultry processing contributes $57.3 billion to the nation’s economy, along with approximately 584,000 jobs. And that is just directly. Indirectly, these industries, when incorporating animal feed, livestock production, transportation, equipment, and more, contribute a value of $347.7 billion, as well as 3.2 million jobs
“The meat and poultry industry is a critical and growing part of the U.S. economy, and one that has outsized importance to rural economies,” Julie Anna Potts, Meat Institute president and CEO, said in the announcement. “Our member companies are often the biggest employers in their rural communities, and their impact goes beyond jobs. In addition to the taxes they pay, they invest in their communities with generous donations of food and make financial and other irreplaceable contributions to local infrastructure like housing, community spaces, schools, and childcare.”
In the report summary, it gives a further breakdown of the meat industries’ economic impacts.
· Directly — $40.6 billion in labor income; $311 billion in total sales; and $12.5 billion in federal, state and local taxes.
· Indirectly — $205.3 billion in labor income; $911.7 billion in total sales; and $77 billion in federal, state and local taxes.
The study also looked at how the meat and poultry processing industries affected every state, district and region of the U.S., and while the industries contribute to many areas, some are more largely impacted than others.
“While the meat and poultry processing industry drives some economic activity in every state and nearly every district, some regions of the U.S. consistently rank at or near the top of the reported economic measures,” the study says.
The top states noted in the study are: Texas Nebraska, Iowa, Georgia, North Carolina, Kansas, California and Arkansas. And among the top-ranking districts are: Minnesota, Kansas, Arkansas, Nebraska, Iowa and Texas.
For total numbers, the U.S. slaughters about 9 billion broilers, 200 million turkeys, 129 million hogs and 30 million cattle, the study said.
Top slaughter amount states, according to the research:
· Broilers: Georgia with 1.3 billion.
· Turkeys: Minnesota with 36.8 million.
· Commercial cattle: Nebraska with 6.8 million
· Hogs: Iowa with 40.5 million.
The study also added that the state with the most slaughtering and processing facilities is Minnesota with 293, and the least is Nevada with 3.
For employment impacts, “The estimated jobs in each state derived from the meat and poultry processing industry … Texas has the highest employment contribution with more than 446,000, followed by Iowa (195,843), Nebraska (187,078), Georgia (160,210), and North Carolina (157,346). A total of 13 states derive more than 100,000 jobs from the meat and poultry processing industry, while 25 states derive between 10,000 and 100,000 jobs.”
For more information about this new economic impact study, visit the Meat Institute at www.MeatInstitute.org.
