Pinal County ranks in the top 2% of all U.S. counties in the total value of agricultural sales…
…and the top 1% in cotton and cottonseed sales, milk sales, and inventories of cattle and calves. Supporting large dairy and beef industries, Pinal County ranks in the top 4% of all counties in barley acreage, corn acreage, and forage crop acreage.
Agriculture’s contributions to Pinal County’s economy goes beyond on-farm production and jobs. A “ripple” of economic activity is stimulated in other industries to meet the demands of agricultural producers for inputs (indirect multiplier effects) and for consumer goods and services by households that derive their income from agriculture (induced multiplier effects). These multiplier effects mean the total economic contribution of on-farm agriculture is considerably greater than indicated by farm gate sales. On- farm agriculture is just one part of an entire system of agribusiness industries, such as milk processing and dairy product manufacturing.
Study by Department of Agricultural & Resource Economics, University of Arizona Cooperative Extension conducted a study to analyze the contribution of on-farm agriculture and agribusiness to the Pinal County economy.
Source: Contribution of On-Farm Agriculture and Agribusiness to the Pinal County Economy: An Economic Contribution Analysis for 2016 - Department of Agricultural & Resource Economics, University of Arizona Cooperative Extension