Food and Agriculture Sector

Sector Chief:

Al Stehly

Sector Overview

The Food and Agriculture Sector is almost entirely under private ownership and is composed of an estimated 2.2 million farms, 900,000 restaurants, and more than 400,000 registered food manufacturing, processing, and storage facilities. This sector accounts for roughly one-fifth of the nation's economic activity.

The Food and Agriculture Sector has critical dependencies with many sectors, but particularly with the following:

  • Water and Wastewater Systems, for clean irrigation and processed water;
  • Transportation Systems, for movement of products and livestock;
  • Energy, to power the equipment needed for agriculture production and food processing; and
  • Financial Services, Chemical, and Dams.