Food Processing & Value-Added Agriculture in East Central Indiana
Indiana’s food processing industry consists of 487 establishments employing more than 32,000 people and represents 5.7 percent of Indiana’s manufacturing employment.
Indiana is undeniably a national leader in agricultural production of both crops and livestock. The state’s 60,000 farms cover 19.4 million acres of land and generated $11.2 billion in farm gate sales in 2012—ranking the state 10th in the nation in agricultural production value, even though it ranks only 18th in total farmland. That same year, Indiana agriculture exports reached a record $4.7 billion. The broader food and agriculture sector contributes $16 billion to Indiana’s Gross State Product and employs 19 percent of the Hoosier workforce. Agriculture in Indiana clearly represents a high-performance economic sector in terms of productivity and impact.
| Major Employers | |
| Central States | Grain terminal |
| Concannon’s Pastry Shop | Commercial bakery |
| Weaver Popcorn | Popcorn |
| Café Valley | Baked goods |
| Tyson Foods | Food processing |
| Purina | Animal food processing |
| Wayne Dairy Products | Dairy processor |
| Richmond Baking Co | Cookies and crackers |
| Hills Pet Nutrition Indiana Inc | Pet food processing |
| Sugar Creek Packing Co. | Ready-To-Eat protein processor |
| Red Gold | Food processing |
| Nestle USA | Beverage manufacturing |
| Blue Buffalo Pet Products | Animal food processing |
| Pioneer Hi-Bred Int. | Seed company |
| Precision Soya | Seed conditioning & warehousing |
| Boar’s Head | Meat processing |
Occupation Wages
| SOC | Description | Avg Hourly Wage | Median Hourly Wage |
| 51-1011 | First-Line Supervisors of Production Workers | $28.83 | $27.34 |
| 51-9198 | Helpers – Production Workers | $14.56 | $14.35 |
| 51-9199 | Production Workers | $18.64 | $18.02 |
| 51-3011 | Bakers | $10.47 | $10.13 |
| 51-3092 | Food Batchmakers | $14.03 | $12.46 |
| 51-3099 | Food Processing Workers | $13.33 | $13.27 |
| 45-2092 | Farmworkers and Laborers, Crop | $10.93 | $10.62 |
| 45-2093 | Farmworkers, Farm, Ranch and Aquacultural Animals | $12.08 | $12.00 |
| 45-2099 | Agricultural Workers | $10.16 | $8.67 |
Source: JobsEQ® Data as of 2018