In Southwest Minnesota, food manufacturing brings much to the table

In Southwest Minnesota, food manufacturing brings much to the table Main Photo

24 Oct 2018


Agralite Arrowhead BENCO Brown Connexus Light and Power Crow Wing Dakota East Central Federated Goodhue Itasca Kandiyohi Lake Country Lake Region McLeod Meeker Mille Lacs Minnesota Valley Nobles North Itasca Redwood Runestone South Central Stearns Electric Steele Todd Wright Hennepin

Southwest Minnesota accounts for nearly one-fourth of the food manufacturing jobs in the state.

Chew on this: Southwest Minnesota is home to 109 food manufacturing establishments providing more than 13,000 jobs and $571.5 million in annual payroll. That is nearly 25 percent of the state’s total employment in food manufacturing, making it one of the region’s most distinguishing industries. In 2017, food manufacturing was nearly four times more concentrated in Southwest Minnesota than the state as a whole.

Not surprisingly, Southwest also has several other agriculture-related industries that are more concentrated in the region than the rest of the state: animal production and aquaculture, crop production, support activities for agriculture, merchant wholesalers of nondurable goods (including grocery, farm products and petroleum), truck transportation and chemical manufacturing.

In sum, these seven heavily agriculture-related industries provide 25,460 jobs, sowing the seeds of economic stability for the region.

Continue to full article