U.S. Grains Council: Value of ag exports top $28 billion, 346,000 jobs

The U.S. Grains Council (USGC) has updated its Value of Grains Exports study with the latest available information about the financial benefits of agricultural exports to communities across the country.

This study, jointly commissioned with the National Corn Growers Association (NCGA), examines the economic contributions provided by exports of malt barley, other barley, corn, corn gluten feed and meal, distiller’s dried grains with solubles (DDGS), ethanol, sorghum and the corn equivalent of beef, pork and poultry on the U.S. economy. The study specifically highlights the economic contributions provided by each U.S. state and individually analyzes them with the goal of quantifying the degree to which state economies rely upon and benefit from grain exports.

″The value of export markets for the U.S. agricultural industry cannot be understated, and by providing this resource for U.S. producers the Council and NCGA hope to demonstrate the importance of trade worldwide,″ said Bryan Jernigan, USGC director of communications. ″Anyone can visit the page to better understand how exports from their state contribute to overall, top-level trade numbers that benefit the U.S. economy.″

Results from the analysis show that the $28.96 billion in grain and grain products exported indirectly supported a total economic output of $86.2 billion in 2021. In other words, access to international export markets for U.S. grains supported nearly an additional $57.24 billion in business sales during 2023. Moreover, the export of grain products supported U.S. GDP by $36.24 billion over what would have occurred without such exports. Finally, the number of jobs linked directly or indirectly to grain exports totaled roughly 346,407.

Further analysis shows that for every dollar of grain product exports generated, through indirect and induced business activities, $2.98 in business sales are supported across the United States.

The online interactive platform allows users to break down each state in the U.S. based on total value of exports and production, with downloadable PDF infographics available as well.

View the Value of Grain Exports Study here.