Rutherford County: 2008 Agricultural Economic Profile

Employment in Agriculture and Forestry made up 4.0% of total jobs created in Rutherford County in 2008 with 5,270 total jobs in these sectors. Secondary agriculture was the largest job creator with 2,147 jobs or 52.4% of total agriculture jobs created. Overall, the forestry industry created 1,178 jobs or 22.3% of total agriculture and forestry jobs created in 2008.

The value of Agriculture Outputs totaled over $1B and was 4.3% of the total Rutherford County economy in 2008. The County had significant lawn mower/ small tractor manufacturing in 2008 with $168M in outputs. There were over $41M worth of primary agricultural products and services produced with horse farming, nurseries and grain farming as the top three producers. Food manufacturing dominated the County’s secondary agriculture sector with frozen food, vegetable/fruit canning and dairy making up 75% of the $837M secondary agriculture economy.

The value of Forestry Outputs totaled $258M or 1% of the total Rutherford County economy in 2008. Rutherford County imported 100% of its forestry products to sustain this economic level, powered by higher quality wood furniture ($46M), architectural pieces ($43M) and cardboard manufacturing ($54M).

2008 Agriculture Economic Summary Data

Definitions:

• Output (Total Economic Activity): Annual dollar value of the goods and services that an industry produces
• Employment: Average annual jobs, both full and part-time. Not full-time equivalents
• Employee Compensation: Wages, salaries, benefits, and total contributions to Social Security/Medicare
• Proprietor Income: Self-employment income, including salary, benefits and total contributions to Social Security/Medicare
• Other Property Type Income: Dividends, interest, rent, corporate profits, and capital depreciation
• Indirect Business Taxes: All business taxes and fees paid to governments including sales and excise taxes
• Total Value Added: Gross regional product derived from the income paid to the owners of the factors of production in the model year

Source: 2008 IMPLAN Data, Minnesota IMPLAN Group, Inc., www.implan.com

Special Thanks: Agri-Industry Modeling & Analysis Group (AIMAG), Department of Agricultural & Resource Economics, University of Tennessee (Robert Menard, Dr. Burton C. English, Dr. Kim Jensen)

Produced by: Cumberland Region Tomorrow – Rural Issues Committee

View the 2008 Agricultural Economic Profile: Rutherford County, PDF