Our unit, the Community and Economic Development Initiative of Kentucky (CEDIK),  recently updated the 2015 report, The Importance of Agriculture for Kentucky. The report defines the economic impact of the Agricultural sector on the Kentucky economy. In our March 2022 update, the primary finding is that the total economic impact of agriculture in Kentucky in 2019 equaled $49.6 billion, representing an 8.8% increase from the economic impact of $45.6 billion in 2012.

While the number of farm operations has decreased from 2012 to 2017, the average market value of agricultural products per operation has increased. The report provides the change in market value of agricultural products sold by top commodities from 2012 to 2017.

We use 2019 IMPLAN data to determine the value of agriculture in Kentucky, and also provide output, employment, and value-added multipliers for agricultural production, processing, and agricultural inputs.

The full report, The Importance of Agriculture for Kentucky March 2022, is available to read and download. 

Note: Our numbers do not include food manufacturing in the impact. This is why our numbers may appear more conservative than other recent reports on Kentucky agriculture’s economic impact.

Recommended Citation Format:

Bowker, S. "The Importance of Agriculture for Kentucky: March 2022 Report Update Now Available." Economic and Policy Update (22):4, Department of Agricultural Economics, University of Kentucky, April 28th, 2022.  

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Author(s) Contact Information: 

Sarah Bowker | sarah.frank@uky.edu