Tennessee Department of Agriculture
Farming and forestry dominates Tennessee's landscape with 84,000 farms producing and selling crops, livestock, and forest products. Forty-four percent, or 11.6 million acres, of the state's land area is in farmland. More than 14 million acres of farm and non-farm forest lands generate about $381 million annually in timber sales, making Tennessee one of the nation's leading producers of hardwood lumber.
Agricultural production alone, excluding forest products, generates more than $2.5 billion annually in farm cash receipts. Tennessee's top agricultural commodities include cattle and calves, broilers, horticultural products, soybeans, cotton, dairy products, corn, tobacco, hogs, hay, tomatoes, eggs, wheat, snap beans, grain sorghum, apples, peaches, farm chickens, squash, and sheep and lambs. Forestry related industries, value-added manufacturing, marketing and distribution, equine, and other agricultural related products also add significantly to the state's economy.
Tennessee is a major producer of several agricultural commodities. The state ranks number two nationally in the number of equine and meat goats, and ranks among the top five states in the production of tobacco, hay and fresh market snap beans. International trade has a significant impact on Tennessee agriculture with exports of raw agricultural products totaling about $750 million each year.
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Top 5 agriculture commodities, 2006
|
|
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Value of receipts
thousand $
|
Percent of state total
farm receipts
|
Percent of US value
|
|
1. Cattle and calves
|
483,160
|
18.8
|
1.0
|
|
2. Broilers
|
413,782
|
16.1
|
2.2
|
|
3. Cotton
|
335,155
|
13.1
|
5.4
|
|
4. Greenhouse/nursery
|
272,680
|
10.6
|
1.6
|
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5. Soybeans
|
251,572
|
9.8
|
1.5
|
|
|
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All commodities
|
2,564,931
|
|
1.1
|
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Farm income and value added data
|
|
|
2005
|
2006
|
|
|
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Number of farms
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83,000
|
82,000
|
|
|
|
|
Thousands $
|
|
Final crop output
|
1,258,243
|
1,394,642
|
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+ Final animal output
|
1,332,177
|
1,261,886
|
|
+ Services and forestry
|
754,655
|
794,122
|
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= Final agricultural sector output
|
3,345,076
|
3,450,650
|
|
|
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- Intermediate consumption outlays
|
1,737,014
|
1,841,424
|
|
+ Net government transactions
|
358,392
|
163,196
|
|
= Gross value added
|
1,966,453
|
1,772,422
|
|
|
|
- Capital consumption
|
650,280
|
675,008
|
|
|
|
= Net value added
|
1,316,173
|
1,097,414
|
|
|
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- Factor payments
|
373,623
|
375,595
|
|
Employee compensation (total hired labor)
|
165,729
|
170,424
|
|
Net rent received by nonoperator landlords
|
9,906
|
-20,084
|
|
Real estate and nonreal estate interest
|
197,988
|
225,255
|
|
|
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= Net farm income
|
942,550
|
721,819
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http://www.state.tn.us/agriculture/