Rural Conditions and Trends:
Rural Industry Issue
Volume 8, Number 3
Editors: Doug Bowers and Fred Gale
Rural Conditions and Trends is published three times a year by USDA's Economic Research Service. Annual subscriptions are available; to place an order, please visit the ERS-NASS Sales Desk.
This issue was published in March 1998 by the Food and Rural Economics Division.
Abstract
This Rural Industries issue of Rural Conditions and Trends is devoted to analyses of farm- and forest-related manufacturing. Adding value to locally grown farm and forest products through processing and marketing activities is a popular
approach to revitalizing rural communities. Federal and State agencieshave shown considerable interest in helping communities implement "value-added" economic development efforts. However, little research and analysis is available to policymakers, community leaders, and economic development practitioners who are designing and evaluating "value-added" development strategies. This issue of Rural Conditions and Trends is intended to fill this need.
The issue reports on manufacturing industries that rely on farm or forest products for a substantial portion of their material inputs (excluding labor, capital, and services). Department of Commerce data on interindustry transactions were used to identify a set of manufacturing industries that obtain at least 20 percent of their inputs from farm or forest products, either directly from the farm or forest/logging industries or indirectly through early-stage processors or wholesalers. This group of farm- and forest-based manufacturers are referred to as "value-added manufacturers." Technically, all manufacturing industries are "value-added manufacturers," because all add value to their material inputs. For the sake of simplicity, when the term "value-added manufacturers" is used in this issue it refers to manufacturers that rely on farm- and forest-based materials.
 The full report is in Adobe Acrobat PDF format. You can download and get help using the Adobe Acrobat Reader to view and print the document. PDF format is used to preserve the layout as it appears in the printed publication.
- Frontmatter (masthead, contents), 16 kb
Overview
- Value-Added Manufacturing--An Important Link to the Larger U.S. Economy, 22 kb
Recent Trends in Value-Added Industries
- Agricultural- and Wood Products-Based Manufacturing Industries Growing at a Modest Pace, 39 kb
- Most Value-Added Manufacturing Increased Its Attachment to Rural Areas During 1989-94, 36 kb
Workers and Wages
- Value-Added Workers Earn Less, Have Less Education Than Other Rural Manufacturing Workers, 24 kb
Local Linkages
- Value-Added Manufacturing Has Strong Local Linkages, 23 kb
Capital Investment
- Investment Patterns Indicate Modest Expansion by Value-Added Industries, 41 kb
- Most Value-Added Firms Have Access to Needed Capital, 21 kb
Exports
- Trade Agreements May Open New Markets for Value-Added Exports, 27 kb
- Farm- and Forest-Related Value-Added Exports Boost the U.S. Economy, 15 kb
Appendixes
- 1--Data Sources, 11 kb
- 2--Definitions, 52 kb
- 3--Latest Trends in Nonfarm Jobs and Earnings, 21 kb
- 4--Two Methods of Measuring Farm-Linked Employment, 26 kb
- 5--Economic Activity Triggered by Agricultural Trade, 10 kb
 Download entire issue, 310 kb.
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Updated: March 27, 1998
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