Economic Role of Corn Production and Marketing Systems in the Midwest U.S.

The structure of mid-western corn production is analyzed within the context of a changing structure of the U.S. and global production and marketing systems. Further, the economic role of corn production in mid-western regions is investigated both at the major corn-producing states and an industry level using a combination of a descriptive analysis and an impact analysis. The impact analysis is done using an input-output model. The descriptive analysis by itself cannot be used to draw definitive conclusions regarding the role of the region’s production and marketing systems; thus, in addition to the descriptive analysis, an input-output analysis using IMPLAN is executed to incorporate the interdependence of the production and marketing system with other sectors of the economy by estimating economic multipliers.