Agribusiness Contributes $23B to Arizona’s Economy, Report Shows

Researchers with the University of Arizona say agricultural businesses contribute more than $23 billion in sales to the state’s economy.

A report released this week by the university’s Cooperative Extension’s Economic Impact Analysis Team also states that agribusiness supports more than 138,000 direct and indirect jobs.

According to the report, Arizona ranks among the top states in the production of lettuce, spinach, broccoli, cauliflower, cantaloupe, honeydew and other commodities.

Researchers found that a number of counties rank in the top 1 percent of all U.S. counties when it comes to various measures of crop and livestock production, and the vast majority of Arizona farm operations are family-run operations and partnerships.

The findings are based on sales output in 2014 using the best available and most recent data.