You don’t have to work on a farm for your job to be connected to agriculture.

Agriculture and agriculture-related industries support 385,332—or nearly one in five— Iowa jobs, helping sustain families, businesses and communities across Iowa.

Even an average size family farm like ours will interact directly with at least 20 people this year: an agronomist, a diesel supplier, a diesel mechanic, a farm equipment mechanic, employees at the local grain co-op and ethanol plant, an ag parts dealer, a fertilizer supplier, a hardware store employee, a Soil and Water Conservation District commissioner, an ag banker, a tax accountant and a Farm Service Agency representative—and that’s just who I can think of off the top of my head.

But there are many more people behind the scenes who have a hand in the work we do that we may never meet. 

Livestock farms enable another network of jobs. In addition to the professionals listed above, they rely on veterinarians, feed specialists, livestock haulers, electricians and construction workers to build or maintain barns. A 2024 Iowa agriculture economic contribution study found that Iowa's livestock sector alone supported nearly 170,000 jobs.

Iowa’s ethanol industry also connects agriculture to multiple parts of the economy. Its employees support both the fuel industry and livestock industry as corn is turned into ethanol and its byproduct into a nutrient-dense animal feed. Nearly 30,000 jobs in Iowa are supported by the ethanol industry.

There are many “non-traditional” jobs behind the innovation happening in agriculture. Researchers develop seeds that can help plants better withstand pests, disease and weather stress, while animal scientists advance nutrition, genetics and livestock health. Engineers and technology specialists develop equipment and tools that improve animal care, allow farmers to be more precise with crop inputs and turn farm data into useful information for decision-making. And as university researchers continue looking for new science and methods to protect soil and water, boots-on-the-ground conservation professionals help farmers put those practices into place.

And I’m just scratching the surface, really. I haven’t even touched on the people working in processing, transportation, food manufacturing, grocery stores and restaurants…

So, when you hear agriculture described as the “backbone” of our state, it’s not simply a figure of speech. Agriculture supports one in five Iowa jobs and the livelihoods and communities connected to them.

On our farm, I can put 20 real faces to that statistic. Multiply those connections across Iowa, and agriculture’s reach becomes hard to miss.