Minnesota Department of Agriculture

 

Based in St. Paul, the Minnesota Department of Agriculture's mission is to work toward a diverse agricultural industry that is profitable as well as environmentally sound; to protect public health and safety with regard to food and agricultural products; and to ensure orderly commerce in agricultural food products. The Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA) has existed in one form or another for more than 100 years. During that time, the state has changed from a mostly rural society with an economy based on agriculture and mining to a multifaceted state dominated by a world-class metropolitan area. As the state has changed, so has our department.

MDA services start before the crop even goes into the ground. They help ensure that farmers have quality seed, fertilizer, pesticides and animal feed so that the final product is also high quality. The MDA also provides a long list of services targeted directly to Minnesota farmers. These services include risk-management education, organic and sustainable ag technical support and dairy and livestock development support.

They continue their service after the plants and animals leave the farm. In the processing and distribution segments of the food chain, they perform duties such as dairy and food processing facility inspections and international market development. Their service delivery concludes at the consumer level with services such as consumer food safety education, ag chemical spill response, and grocery store inspections.

Their 450 employees strive to meet these obligations effectively and efficiently, all the while maintaining a special working relationship with stakeholders. As they move deeper into the 21st century, their intent is to continue looking for opportunities to help the state's agricultural sector adapt and thrive in the global marketplace. Meanwhile, they will continue to provide a consistently high level of service and protection to all those who grow, process and consume Minnesota-grown foods.

 

Farm income and value added data

 

2006

2007

 

Number of farms

79,300

79,000

 

 

Thousands $

       Final crop output

5,122,515

6,723,337

+     Final animal output

4,750,348

5,649,201

+     Services and forestry

1,350,632

1,521,126

=   Final agricultural sector output

11,223,495

13,893,664

 

-      Intermediate consumption outlays

5,962,898

7,288,925

+     Net government transactions

372,573

25,912

=   Gross value added

5,633,171

6,630,651

 

-      Capital consumption

1,260,942

1,298,838

 

=   Net value added

4,372,229

5,331,813

 

-    Factor payments

1,789,485

1,892,378

         Employee compensation (total hired labor)

446,435

534,264

         Net rent received by nonoperator landlords

634,644

588,334

         Real estate and nonreal estate interest

708,406

769,780

 

=   Net farm income

2,582,744

3,439,435

http://www.ers.usda.gov/StateFacts/MN.HTM

http://www3.mda.state.mn.us/mngrown


http://www.mda.state.mn.us/


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