From Farm to Consumer: Breaking Down Ohio’s Food Value Chain
June 1, 2019
An overview of Ohio’s food assets using numbers, charts and graphics
Ohio’s food industry value chain is a robust end-to-end system. From the farms to the tables of consumers, food and agribusiness companies and stakeholders have a well-rounded state filled with assets to keep them successful.
Ohio is positioned on the easternmost end of the highly productive “corn belt” that stretches roughly from west to east from Nebraska to Ohio and north to south from Minnesota to Missouri. The state ranks No. 1 in soft red wheat production, No. 7 in soybeans and No. 10 in corn. Including smaller grains, Ohio produces about 24 million tons of grains each year with the majority being processed in state.
All three major commodity processing industries are the foundation for both the strong animal agriculture production in the state and the 1,300 food manufacturing facilities throughout Ohio. The soybean meal and corn feeds roughly 5 million hogs, 45.5 million chickens and turkeys, and 1.5 million cows, which leads to 9 billion eggs and 630 million gallons of milk (some of which is used to produce yogurt at the nation’s second largest plant in Minster, Ohio). In addition, the meat of these animals is processed and consumed in Ohio as well as nationally and globally.
Ohio counts 76,000 farms producing vegetables, fruits, grains, and livestock, wool, and many more vital products and commodities. Farming launches the value-added ride through processing, manufacturing, packaging, distribution, and ultimately to the consumer in many convenient, nutritious, and inexpensive products.