Study Details the Economic Impact of Farming, Fishing and Logging in Northwest

Posted

A new study released on Wednesday shows that more than 12 percent of every dollar generated in the Pacific Northwest, as well as one in 10 jobs, are directly related to agriculture, forestry or fishing.

The study, which looked at the combined economies of Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon and Washington, was commissioned by Northwest Farm Credit Services and conducted by Oregon State University Extension Service Rural Studies Program and the University of Idaho Extension Service.

“Farm Credit has been supporting Northwest agriculture and forestry producers for a century, and fisheries since the ’70s,” said Phil DiPofi, Northwest FCS President and CEO, in a press release. “We knew intuitively how vital these industries are to the Northwest, and wanted to quantify their contributions to the regional economy. This study affirms the significant impact producers have on the financial strength of our region.”



According to the study, the economic footprint of those three staple industries is more than 885,900 jobs and nearly $176.1 billion in sales. Of that total income, about 68.2 percent comes from agriculture, which represents 7.5 percent of all jobs in the region and 8.3 percent of total sales. Forestry represents 23.8 percent of the combined economic pie, including 2.3 percent of all jobs and 2.9 perecent of all sales. Fisheries round out the graph with 0.9 percent of all sales and 1 percent of all jobs in the region.

In Washington alone, fishing, forestry and farming represent 303,321 full or part time jobs and they generate $58,815,236 in sales. For comparison, Oregon has 256,423 farming, fishing or forestry jobs, which bring in $48,550,446 in sales.