Study shows agriculture vital to county economy

The Alabama Cooperative Extension System recently released agricultural and economic figures for each of Alabama’s 67 counties.

The research was provided through Alabama A&M and Auburn Universities and was collected in 2010.

Coffee County’s figures were broken down into a handful of agricultural and forestry related industries.

In 2010, $242.4 million was generated through the county’s agricultural and forestry production sector.

The county ranked fourth in the state in broiler production, with poultry and egg

production contributing 61.1 percent of the county’s total agricultural and forestry  production, making it the largest agricultural commodity.

Cotton was the second largest commodity, contributing 3.9 percent and cattle was the third largest contributing 3.1 percent.

Timberland accounted for 53 percent of the surface land area in the county, and

forestry contributed 8.2 percent of the county’s total agricultural production.

Overall, agricultural and forestry related industries represent 38.9 percent of the county’s total workforce, or 8,655 of 22,256 total jobs.

The total economic impact of the industries was $1.1 billion, which is 43.3 percent of the county’s $2.6 billion of total economic activity.

The indirect business taxes impact was $26.5 million, 30.2 percent of the county’s total indirect business taxes.

For more information on Coffee County and other counties in the state, visit http://www.aces.edu/impact/ag/.