Study: Swine industry has $2.1B impact on SD

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The overall economic impact from South Dakota’s swine industry — including the direct income, jobs created, taxes paid and indirect economic activity — is estimated to be $2.1 billion annually.

Those are the findings of a recent economic impact study of the state’s pork industry conducted by SDSU economics associate professor Gary Taylor.

Using numbers from 2008, Taylor’s study revealed that there were 339,000 sows farrowed in South Dakota that year producing a pig crop of 3.297 million head. With an additional 951,000 hogs imported into the state in 2008, the gross income from the industry totaled more than $3.9 million.

Using a multiplier for the pork industry of 1.32, Taylor said the 339,000 sows in the state contribute about $1,534 in economic activity per sow to the economy. And, given that pork prices have risen significantly since 2008, Taylor clarifies that the economic impact to the state is much greater today.

Moreover, the economic impact study identified that South Dakota’s pork industry currently directly generates 4,371 jobs in the state, produces $17.4 million in total tax revenue, and serves as the number one customer for the corn and soybeans produced in the state.

Additionally, the state’s meat processing sector sees nearly $1.7 billion in output, 3,547 in jobs and $2 million in indirect business taxes as a result of the South Dakota pork industry.

Tags: news, agriculture, swine, business, updates