ST. LOUIS — The impact of agriculture on St. Louis and the surrounding area is more than a concept. It is a number, and that number is $13.5 billion.
That’s the value the industry contributes to the region, according to a study conducted by ag economist Larry Taylor.
Taylor, founder of the international ag marketing firm Aziotics, presented his findings at a meeting of the St. Louis AgriBusiness Club.
The economic impact study covers the federally designated Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA), which includes the city of St. Louis and 14 surrounding counties, six in Missouri and eight in Illinois.
Missouri counties included Franklin, Jefferson, Lincoln, St. Charles, St. Louis and Warren. In Illinois, they are Bond, Calhoun, Clinton, Jersey, Macoupin, Madison, Monroe and St. Clair.
“The objectives of this were to demonstrate the value of agribusiness in our region, but also to provide a tool,” Taylor said.
The report was formed partly by use of statistics from the ag census of 2012. The $13.5 billion number represents direct and indirect economic output of agriculture, including direct ag production and suppliers.
The addition of a so-called “induced” contribution — which includes wages spent by those working in agriculture — increases the value to $18.6 billion.
Taylor’s report focused largely on the direct and indirect portion.
The $13.5 billion figure represents 11 percent of the total production in the MSA. Agriculture contributes 179,000 jobs, or 16 percent of the jobs in the St. Louis region.
The report also shows that 77 percent of the direct ag production in the MSA comes from the Illinois side.
Such a study presents myriad challenges. Taylor was forced to wade through reams of data and separate the numbers related to agriculture.
The line is fuzzy in many cases, dividing agriculture production and entertainment, for example.
“There are some interesting ones,” he said. “Where does equine fit? If you’re raising horses, that’s animal production. If you’ve got a stable where people come and ride, that’s entertainment. So depending on how it’s cast, it can fall in a different place.
“Also, golf uses a lot of agribusiness technology and know-how, people with turf degrees. Golf is about $60 million. But that amount is picked up in the induced side.”
Other jobs may not seem to fit into agriculture at first glance. They include metal production. Even cabinetmakers have a place, since they work with products used in forestry production and harvest.
“Five percent of fabricated metal products is in boilers, tanks and shipping,” Taylor said.
“But, 75 percent of that is metal cans that go into canning food. (The report is) diving down into something that at the high level, it doesn’t look like agribusiness at all, but carries some agribusiness.”
Transportation is another industry that fits into the ag category.
St. Louis is a major inland port, with much of the grain produced in the Midwest heading to New Orleans for export.
But, Taylor pointed out trucking is the major portion.
“Trucks get the most credit for the value here,” he said. “Eighty-six percent of all agricultural products travel by truck at some point. And 30 percent of the value of that is agribusiness.”
In addition, the St. Louis region has 1 million square feet of public refrigerated warehouse. Taylor said 88 percent of refrigerated warehouse space is used for agriculture.
“That is a major player,” he said.