Alabama has not escaped the negative effects of the Great Recession. This is especially true in rural Alabama where the unemployment rate has been in double digits for several years. For many years, these areas have produced thousands of jobs in our agriculture industry, but as of late, those jobs have been slipping away. When agriculture does well, Alabama does well.

In 2010 the top five commodities in Alabama (broilers; cattle and calves; greenhouse/nursery; chicken eggs; cotton) added a combined $5 billion to our economy. In addition to pure revenue, agriculture also affects our economy as a result of the jobs and products produced each year. Without a healthy agriculture system, Alabama will suffer.

From 1997 to 2007, the number of farmed acres in Alabama decreased by half a million. From 2002 to 2007 the number of full-time farmers fell 13.3%, and the average age of farmers increased. Of all the farms in Alabama, 92.3% of them are less than 500 acres, the vast majority of those being less than 99 acres. The numbers are clear - agriculture in Alabama is teetering on the edge - and when agriculture falters so do many of Alabama’s families and small businesses.

Alabama’s Department of Agriculture & Industry is committed to reversing these negative trends by increasing our trade in foreign markets, including the rapidly growing Asian and Latin American regions. We have taken a leadership role as a proponent in foreign trade, working with the Port of Mobile and with leading agribusinesses. Greater trade means thousands of new good-paying jobs for Alabama.

One of the most important initiatives we have undertaken is building demand for Alabama farm products, including Alabama beef, poultry, eggs, row crops (cotton, soybeans, peanuts and corn). Other states have been very successful in launching and promoting marketing and education initiatives aimed at increasing the demand for commodities in their state; Alabama is making a concerted and successful effort in this endeavor. By marketing Alabama made and grown products not only in Alabama, but around the country, we are increasing the impact that agriculture and the production of basic goods has on our economy.

The Alabama broadband initiative has allowed rural communities in our state to become connected with the world through the Internet. We are exploring ways of expanding that program, which has the potential of opening up vast new markets for rural farms and agribusinesses. By helping folks in rural areas sell their products on the internet, we will be allowing them to provide economically for themselves and thus, for the state.