Study Says SD Agriculture Has $21 Billion Impact

An associate professor at South Dakota State University says agriculture and related industries had a $21.4 billion impact on South Dakota's economy in 2010.

Gary Taylor, an associate professor of economics, says the impact includes more than $8.3 billion in direct agricultural production, $3.4 billion in inputs supplied by businesses and nearly $1.7 billion from increased household spending.

Agricultural processing and manufacturing added more than $8 billion in economic activity.

Taylor says agriculture's total $21.4 billion economic impact makes agriculture the largest single sector in South Dakota's economy. He says agriculture makes up about 19.8 percent of the state economy's total output.