BLOOMINGTON, Ill. — A new study shows that livestock and dairy producers and processors have a huge impact on the Illinois economy, topping $27 billion in 2011.

The Illinois Livestock Development Group (ILDG) hired associate professor Peter Goldsmith from the University of Illinois to complete the study, which is the third one commissioned by the group since 2001.

Rob Shaffer, ILDG chair, said the industry’s workforce is significant and the economic impact on local regions has grown since the last study was completed in 2004. Shaffer is a cow producer from El Paso, located in Woodford and McLean counties in central Illinois.

“The Illinois livestock and meat and dairy processing industries provide a significant source of revenue for our local, regional and state economies, while employing 1.4 percent of the state’s workers and contributing to our local, state and federal taxes,” he said.

 He noted that based on the study’s results, livestock production and processing is an economic engine in rural as well as urban areas of the state. The production side has a $3.5 billion impact and provides jobs for about 25,000 people.

Combined with the processing side, the total impact is $27 billion, with 99,000 jobs. The impact total is up about 28.6 percent from $21 billion from 2004.

In the report, Goldsmith notes the industry accounts for about 5 percent of the state’s overall economy.

“The Illinois livestock industry continues as an important element of the total Illinois economy. While the industry has realized a number of animals decline during the past 30 years, since 2000, Illinois still shows modest growth in the real value of products sold,” Shaffer said. “The Illinois livestock industry really does impact us all at many different levels.”

Specifically, pork and poultry lead with positive real growth, while dairy is nominally flat and has declined in real terms, he said. Beef, sheep and lamb marketing also have declined both nominally and in real terms.

The study showed that Clinton County, located in south-central Illinois, produces the most livestock products of any county in the state. It produced approximately $122 million in direct output and $169 million in total output. The industry generates annual taxes of $13 million and total employment of 1,443 full-time workers there.

Jasper County agriculture, in east-central Illinois, generates the greatest share of that county’s economic activity. The industry equals 9.9 percent of all the personal income generated in the county.

To view the entire report online, go to www.illinoislivestock.org/Research