United States Department of Agriculture - Economic Research Service - The Economics of Food, Farming, Natural Resources, and Rural America...  
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louisiana state fact sheet


State Fact Sheet Map  
As of January 21, 2004

POPULATION, INCOME AND EMPLOYMENT

Population
Variable State Metro * Nonmetro *
Population
    1980 4,206,116 3,124,560 1,081,556
    1990 4,220,164 3,159,629 1,060,535
    2000 4,468,976 3,370,210 1,098,766
    2002 (latest) 4,482,646 3,388,583 1,094,063
For more information on Louisiana population, see the County-Level Population Data or the Rural Population and Migration Briefing Room or contact John Cromartie, 202-694-5421.



Income
Variable State Metro * Nonmetro *
Per-capita income (2000 dollars)
    1999 23,233 24,692 18,762
    2000 23,090 24,544 18,629
    Percent change -0.6 -0.6 -0.7
 
Earnings per job (2000 dollars)
    1999 30,154 31,211 25,767
    2000 29,532 30,539 25,323
    Percent change -2.1 -2.2 -1.7
 
Poverty rate (percent)
    1979 18.6 16.8 24.1
    1989 23.6 21.8 29.1
    1995 21.2 20.1 24.8
    Latest (1999) 19.6 18.4 23.7
For more information on Louisiana poverty rates, see the County-Level Poverty Rates data page or the Rural Income, Poverty, and Welfare Briefing Room or contact Dean Jolliffe, 202-694-5430



Employment
Variable State Metro * Nonmetro *
Total number of jobs
    1999 2,385,892 1,922,406 463,486
    2000 2,414,660 1,948,823 465,837
 
Unemployment rate (percent)
    2000 5.5 5.0 7.5
    2001 6.0 5.4 8.0
For more information on Louisiana unemployment rates, see the County-Level Unemployment and Median Household Income data page or the Rural Labor and Education Briefing Room or contact Lorin Kusmin, 202-694-5429
 
Percent employment change
    1998-1999 0.5 0.6 0.3
    1999-2000 -1.6 -1.4 -2.2
    2000-2001 0.6 0.8 -0.5
 
Percent of 1997 employment in farm and farm-related jobs
Total 14.8 13.5 21.0
    Production 1.8 0.7 6.5
    Farm inputs 0.4 0.3 0.9
    Processing & marketing 1.5 1.2 2.8
    Wholesale & retail trade 10.1 10.5 8.8
See the complete Farm and Farm-Related Employment data for Louisiana or contact Alex Majchrowicz, 202-694-5355.

* See the measures of rurality for Louisiana: rural-urban continuum codes and urban influence codes
 
For more information on socioeconomic conditions see the Rural Emphasis Page,
or contact Tim Parker, 202-694-5435.


FARM CHARACTERISTICS

1992 and 1997 Census of Agriculture
 
Variable 1992 1997
Total land area (million acres) 27.88 27.88
    Total farmland (million acres) 7.84 7.88
        Percent of total land area 28.1 28.2
 
        Cropland (million acres) 5.55 5.33
            Percent of total farmland 70.9 67.7
                Percent irrigated 16.0 17.5
                Percent in pasture 15.8 15.8
 
        Farmland in conservation and wetland
         reserve program (million acres)
0.08 0.16
            Percent of total farmland 1.0 2.0
 
        Woodland (million acres) 0.99 0.95
            Percent of total farmland 12.6 12.1
                Percent in pasture 39.5 32.9
 
        Pastureland (million acres) 0.99 1.01
            Percent of total farmland 12.7 12.8
 
        Other land (million acres) 0.30 0.59
            Percent of total farmland 3.9 7.5
 
Average farm size (acres) 306 331
 
Farms by size (percent)
            1 to 99 acres 50.9 51.2
            100 to 499 acres 32.0 31.4
            500 to 999 acres 9.6 8.5
            1000 to 1,999 acres 5.2 5.8
            2,000 or more acres 2.2 3.0
 
Farms by sales (percent)
            Less than $50,000 77.3 77.3
            $50,000 to $99,999 6.5 5.1
            $100,000 to $499,999 13.8 13.1
            More than $500,000 2.4 4.5
 
Tenure of farmers
        Full owner (farms) 13,751 13,133
            Percent of total 53.6 55.1
 
        Part owner (farms) 8,018 7,450
            Percent of total 31.3 31.3
 
        Tenant owner (farms) 3,883 3,240
            Percent of total 15.1 13.6
 
Farm organization
        Individuals/family (farms) 23,282 21,694
            Percent of total 90.8 91.1
 
        Partnerships (farms) 2,032 1,850
            Percent of total 7.9 7.8
 
        Non-family corporations (farms) 133 103
            Percent of total 0.5 0.4
 
        Others (farms) 205 176
            Percent of total 0.8 0.7
 
Average operator age (years) 54 54
        Percent with farming as their occupation 50.4 47.4
 
For more information about the Census of Agriculture see the National Agricultural
Statistics Service's web page, or call 1-800-727-9540.


FARM FINANCIAL INDICATORS

Farm income and value added data
 
Variable 2001 2002
 
Number of farms 29,000 29,000
 
  Thousands $
       Final crop output 1,157,200 1,126,275
+     Final animal output 695,852 620,593
+     Services and forestry 268,575 272,353
=   Final agricultural sector output 2,121,627 2,019,221
 
-      Intermediate consumption outlays 1,258,847 1,270,227
+     Net government transactions 395,094 209,905
=   Gross value added 1,257,875 958,899
 
-      Capital consumption 217,233 224,347
 
=   Net value added 1,040,642 734,552
 
-    Factor payments 528,483 503,037
         Employee compensation (total hired labor) 179,157 177,867
         Net rent received by nonoperator landlords 208,727 196,049
         Real estate and nonreal estate interest 140,599 129,121
 
=   Net farm income 512,159 231,515
 
Value-added and farm income tables are available for downloading from the ERS web page as Lotus Wk1 files. For more information contact Roger Strickland, 202-694-5592.



Farm balance sheet as of December 31
 
Variable 2001 2002
  Thousands $
Farm assets 12,051,451 12,326,617
        Real estate 9,259,295 9,542,022
        Nonreal estate 2,792,155 2,784,595
 
Farm debt 1,859,009 1,932,112
        Real estate 886,512 958,710
        Nonreal estate 972,497 973,402
 
            Equity 10,192,442 10,394,505
 
Ratios Percent
        Debt/equity 18.2 18.6
        Debt/assets 15.4 15.7
 
Farm balance sheet tables are available for downloading from the ERS web page as Lotus Wk1 files. For more information contact Roger Strickland, 202-694-5592.


TOP COMMODITIES, EXPORTS, AND COUNTIES

Top 5 agriculture commodities, 2002
Commodity Value of receipts
thousand $
Percent of state total
farm receipts
Percent of US value
1.     Cane for sugar 368,924 20.8 36.6
2.     Cotton 158,666 8.9 4.1
3.     Cattle and calves 157,153 8.9 0.4
4.     Corn 152,095 8.6 0.9
5.     Soybeans 123,687 7.0 0.9
 
All commodities
1,773,423   0.9
 
For more details about Louisiana's top agriculture commodities, see Leading commodities for cash receipts, or contact Roger Strickland, 202-694-5592.



Top 5 agriculture exports, estimates, FY 2002
Commodity Rank among
states
Value
million $
1.     Rice 3 103.5
2.     Cotton and linters 7 101.8
3.     Soybeans and products 18 51.0
4.     Feed grains and products 19 49.6
5.     Wheat and products 31 26.5
 
Overall
32 395.2
 
For more information on exports see State Export Data or the Agricultural Trade Briefing Room or contact Carol Whitton, 202-694-5287.



Top 5 counties in agricultural sales 1997
Counties Percent of state's
total receipts
Million $
1.     Franklin Parish 4.3 88.0
2.     Union Parish 4.3 86.4
3.     Morehouse Parish 3.9 78.4
4.     Tensas Parish 3.5 70.7
5.     Vermilion Parish 3.5 70.1
 
State total
  2,031.3
 
For more information about the Census of Agriculture see the National Agricultural
Statistics Service's web page, or call 1-800-727-9540.


DATA SOURCES:
  • Local Area Unemployment Statistics, county data, Bureau of Labor Statistics.
  • Regional Economic Information System, June 2002, Bureau of Economic Analysis, U.S. Department of Commerce.
  • 1990 and 2000 Census of Population, Bureau of the Census, U.S. Department of Commerce.
  • Farm Income and Costs Briefing Room, Economic Research Service, USDA.
  • Foreign Agricultural Trade of the United States (FATUS), Economic Research Service, USDA.
  • Census of Agriculture, National Agricultural Statistics Service, USDA.

Prepared by:
        Economic Research Service, USDA, Washington, DC.


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