RELEASE: Missouri has teeth in the animal biz

Missouri Industry Feature: Animal Health & Agribusiness

Forbes magazine recently confirmed that Missouri is one of the top states for agribusiness. The magazine recently released its list of America’s Strongest Farming & Agribusiness Regions, and St. Joseph came in No. 4.

According to Forbes, St. Joseph has “become a major center for food processing companies – particularly meat – as well as pharmaceuticals. It’s a major hub along the Kansas City Animal Health Corridor, where nearly a third of the $19 billion global animal health industry is concentrated.” In 2014, there were more than 5,300 agribusiness jobs in St. Joseph, with an average wage of $44,800. Additionally, this St. Joseph industry saw a 159.9 percent increase in job growth between 2004 and 2014, as well as an 11.9 percent wage increase. To see Forbes’ full list of America’s Strongest Farming & Agribusiness Regions, please click here.

Kansas City is also a big player in this industry, with the city recently wooing animal health data and analytics company Rex. After spending three months in the city participating in the local Sprint Accelerator, the company recently announced that it will move its headquarters from Austin, Texas to KC. Rex joins the growing KC Animal Health Corridor, which hosts 75 percent of the world’s industry businesses.

To learn more about Rex’s decision to move to the Show-Me State, as well as updates on other Sprint Accelerator companies, please click here to read the full article from the Kansas City Business Journal.

To find out more about this Missouri industry, please visit our Bioscience Portal.

Missouri is proud to be the home of this robust, growing industry, which represents a long tradition of bioscience and agriculture excellence in the Show-Me State. This news illustrates the supportive, pro-business environment that Missouri offers to companies of all industries.

Are you a growing company looking to expand in the Show-Me state? Check out all of the resources available through the Missouri Department of Economic Development.