Dakotas rely heavily on ag production, processing

A study for the South Dakota Department of Agriculture shows that South Dakota in 2012 derived 11.91 percent of its gross state product from ag production and manufacturing of food, more than any other state except North Dakota.

In North Dakota the figure was 12.13 percent.

Next on the list are Iowa, with 11.37 percent; Nebraska, 11.28 percent; Idaho, 8.97 percent.

The figures are included in a report prepared for the South Dakota Department of Agriculture by Decision Innovation Solutions with assistance from South Dakota State University and the USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service. Ag Department officials released the report Oct. 1.

The report also provides a breakdown on ag production and food manufacturing, and from those figures, it’s clear that it’s mainly in ag production where the Dakotas lead the country.

In ag production, South Dakota is again second to North Dakota. The sister states are the only states in the nation with greater than 10 percent of gross state product coming from ag production, with 10.61 percent in North Dakota and 10.49 percent in South Dakota.

The states rank much lower in food manufacturing. North Dakota derived 1.52 percent of its gross state product from food manufacturing – 19th in the nation – while South Dakota ranked 22nd in the nation, with 1.41 percent.

The top states were first-place North Carolina, where 4.30 percent of gross state product came from food manufacturing, followed by Iowa, with 4.24 percent; Kentucky, with 3.73 percent; Virginia, with 3.70 percent; and Nebraska, with 3.37 percent.

“Together, ag production and food manufacturing generated 11.91 percent of South Dakota’s GSP, which was the second highest share nationwide,” the report says. “While these statistics indicate that South Dakota was not the second largest producer of raw ag commodities and processed food in the nation, they do show that South Dakota had the second largest proportion of any state’s economic product directly generated through the production and manufacturing of food during 2012.”

The South Dakota Department of Agriculture said its cost for the study is $52,385, though the contract also provides for the payment of expenses not to exceed $1,000. Total payments made to Decision Innovation Solutions will not exceed $53,385.