Socioeconomic Impacts of Agricultural Processing Plants

Abstract

Expanded processing of agricultural products in rural areas has been widely pursued as a strategy for rural economic development. However, while offering substantial potential benefits to communities where plants may be located, the expansion of value-added agricultural processing in rural areas has not been without its problems. The purpose of this paper is to assess the socioeconomic impacts of new agricultural processing plants located in rural (nonmetropolitan) areas of North Dakota. Information was drawn from in-depth interviews with community leaders in four communities where processing plants had recently been developed, along with a random survey of more than 450 residents of these communities. Improved job opportunities and enhanced incomes were generally seen as major positive effects of each of the new processing plants. Of all the effects of the plants, only air quality and water quality were more often rated as negative than positive by local residents.