According to the Economic Contribution of Agricultural and Food Production to the Ohio Economy report, agricultural and food production in Ohio continues to grow despite decreasing employment and decreasing commodity prices. In 2015, Ohio's gross state product (GSP) was $617.4 billion. Ohio's agricultural and food production cluster with restaurants and bars directly account for $47 billion of gross state product and 900,000 jobs. That's $1 in every $13 of Ohio's GSP, and 1 in 8 jobs in Ohio.
The authors of this new report were careful to ensure that the analysis follows the most up-to-date generally accepted practices for the calculation and reporting of economic contributions. Where appropriate, the authors follow the procedures and methods outlined by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. In circumstances where professional judgment is necessary, the authors rely on the consensus of recommendations provided by the academic, government and consulting communities that regularly produce economic contribution analyses around the United States. The current report is the result of a rigorous and collaborative analysis and writing process that started with meetings of interested stakeholders in the spring of 2017 to assess interest in the report and to gather input on the types of information that would prove most valuable moving forward. In June, the authors held an educational forum on The Ohio State University campus and through webinar, to introduce the current state of thinking among national experts on the generally accepted methods for contribution analyses.
The final result of this review process is the report contained herein. As would be expected from a report outlining the contributions and trends of multiple sectors to a state economy, the authors find some good news and some areas of possible concern. We would like to thank the leadership in the College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences for their continuing support of the academic mission of AEDE. We would also like to thank all of our stakeholders for the passion, interest and critical eye they brought to this project. We have made a good faith effort to incorporate stakeholder comments while maintaining a commitment to adhere to generally accepted practices and provide an impartial and defensible analysis.
Finally, we would like to thank the members of the AEDE Outreach Committee Dr. Brent Sohngen, Dr. Ian Sheldon, Dr. Zoë Plakias, Janice DiCarolis and Kelli Trinoskey for their work in further demonstrating AEDE’s commitment to providing Ohio’s agricultural and food production community the highest quality economic information needed to make informed decisions for the sustainability of Ohio’s economy
