Sacramento Region Specialty Crops Multiplier Study

Yolo County (California)

As a subconsultant to ERA Economics, BAE leveraged social accounts data purchased from the IMPLAN Group to quantitatively document the purchaser-supplier relationships associated with the specialty agriculture industry cluster within the six county SACOG region.  Using this quantitative map of the specialty agriculture cluster, BAE worked with ERA to identify the industry sectors that would be the focus of an in-depth survey intended to collect information on the unique spending patterns of businesses included in the target cluster.

For example, surveys are being conducted with farm product wholesalers that work with specialty agriculture products to identify their unique spending patterns, differentiating them from establishments that deal in other unrelated products. BAE then used the survey results to develop custom industry sectors within the IMPLAN model. Following the creation of a custom IMPLAN model, BAE updated the quantitative map of the specialty agriculture cluster and calculated a set of economic multipliers that summarize the importance of specialty agriculture within the six county SACOG region. This information allows SACOG and regional stakeholders to understand the importance of specialty crops as an underpinning of the local economy and make informed decisions about investments in supporting the food system in ways that generate important returns on investment..