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Boom Times Continue for US Farming

http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/8c6a37f0-1b33-11e1-8b11-00144feabdc0.html

›November 30, 2011 10:03 am
By Javier Blas

What makes North Dakota, Nebraska and South Dakota different from the rest of the US?

The first difference is that they have the lowest unemployment rate: 3.5, 4.2 and 4.5 per cent, respectively, compared with a national average of 9 per cent in October.

The second big difference is farming. Agriculture has the largest share of gross domestic product in the three states. While the national average is less than 1.5 per cent, it is 10.9 per cent in North Dakota, 9.4 per cent in South Dakota and 6.8 per cent in Nebraska.

A large agricultural sector was a curse in the 1980s and 1990s, but today, it is a blessing.

The US Department of Agriculture said on Tuesday that the net value added of agriculture to the US economy – adjusted by inflation – will be the highest this year since at least 1974. And the boom is likely to continue. Official figures, also released on Tuesday, show that in 2011, US farmers will take home for the first time more than $100bn in a single year. As Tom Vilsack, the agriculture secretary puts it, “agriculture continues to be a bright spot” in the US economy. Indeed, farming, together with natural resources production, particularly oil, is one of the few bright spots.

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