Agriculture accounts for 15% of Oregon’s economic activity, according to a new report from 1000 Friends of Oregon.
Agriculture accounts for 15% of Oregon’s economic activity, according to a new report from 1000 Friends of Oregon.
Agriculture is Oregon’s second-largest industry, and one in eight Oregonians work on farms or ranches or in businesses linked to them. The processing, shipping and distribution plants, joined by equipment dealers, supply stores, restaurants and food service companies, churn $5.48 billion worth of farm and ranch products into $22 billion in goods and services annually.
Jobs and products associated with Oregon ag are surprisingly stable, and can’t be easily outsourced. In the depths of the 2007-2012 recession, when the state’s total employment dropped 5.3 percent and other kinds of manufacturing jobs declined 15.8 percent, food processing jobs in Oregon increased 7.8 percent, according to the report.
Read more at Capital Press.
