The economic impact of agriculture is often overlooked when thinking of thriving industries in Nevada.
The agriculture industry in Nevada provided an economic impact of $1.8 billion in 2015, according to a 2017 report by the Nevada Department of Agriculture.
The livestock production industry alone provided an economic impact of
$755 million. The livestock production industry includes sectors such as
the cattle and calf industry and the dairy and milk production
industry.
"Cow-calf is the largest part of the
animal industry sector which represents about 75 percent of the
production in the state of Nevada," Jim Barbee, director of the Nevada
Department of Agriculture (NDA), said.
Nevada has a large amount of rangeland
that cattle can take advantage of since it is largely a federally owned
state. Additionally, the market prices for the cattle and calf industry
are trending up.
"Since 2010, we have seen a dramatic increase in the market value of cattle," Barbee said.
The report shows that the value of
inventory in 2015 was $748 million compared to just $414 million in
2010. Barbee said that there will be a large expansion of cattle in the
state in the near future.
"We (are seeing) much more expansion
largely due to (the fact) that we are in a much better place relative to
our water resources in the state," Barbee said.
He explained that exports in the cattle
industry are also expected to increase as China recently reopened their
markets to American cattle exports.
"Nebraska is headed out on a trade mission
to China in the next couple of weeks," he said. "… and those Nebraska
cattle are Nevada cattle."
Cattle produced in Nevada are typically
shipped out of state for processing. Barbee explained that calves
typically go to California in the fall and winter to take advantage of
the grasslands, come back to Nevada in the spring on the rangeland as
yearlings before going onto feedlots in states such as Idaho, Colorado
and Nebraska.
The total economic contribution of the
cattle and calf industry in Nevada was estimated at $642 million in
2015. The sector also provided 3,431 jobs and for each job created it
supports additional jobs.
"Every 10 jobs that we have in this
industry creates another 12 jobs in those communities that are a result
of that economic impact," he added.
Technology is also increasingly playing a larger role in Nevada agriculture.
Barbee explained that the NDA created its
own online inspection program that allows their staff to quickly access
and input information. They have been implementing the technology over
the past three years and the program is currently 85 percent
implemented. Barbee said that they expect to have it fully implemented
by the end of the year.
"The great thing about (this technology)
is that it helps us provide economic information more accurately because
we are able to more accurately define the number of cattle that are in
the state and the number of cattle that are shipped out of state," he
said.
The dairy and milk production industry is
another sector within the livestock production industry that has a
significant impact on the Nevada economy.
"Our milkshed is very important to the
economy," Anna Vickrey, the Nevada Department of Agriculture Food Safety
Lab operations manager, said.
According to the report, the sector
provided an economic impact of $103 million to the Nevada economy in
2015. The sector also provided 460 jobs and had an employment multiplier
of 2.3.
"For every ten jobs within the dairy industry you are creating another 13 jobs," Vickrey explained.
She explained that NDA's role within the dairy sector is to protect the industry through testing inspections and promotions.
"Our mission here at the Department of Agriculture is to promote and protect the agriculture industry," Barbee said.
The department employs approximately 130
to 140 full-time employees and hundreds of seasonal employees across the
various agriculture sectors.
To read the full 2017 Economic Analysis report, visit http://agri.nv.gov/.
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