Minnesota

 

 

 

AGRICULTURE

The agriculture and food industry is the second largest employer in the state.  Minnesota has over 79,600 farms which account for 55% percent of land use.  Nationally, Minnesota ranks number 5 in food exports.  Minnesota has a very large food processing industry, and 2/3 of all agricultural jobs in the state are off-farm, in the food processing, distribution, supply, and service sectors.  

Major food processing companies that call Minnesota home include Cargill, Schwan Food Company, General Mills and Land O’Lakes.  

The main farming areas are in southern Minnesota, where corn, soybeans, and oats are important, and in the Red River Valley along the western border, where wheat, barley, sugar beets, and potatoes are among the chief crops. The state is also a leader in the production of creamery butter, dry milk, cheese, and sweet corn.

The livestock industry contributes more than $10 billion annually to the state’s economy, and directly and indirectly employs nearly 100,000 Minnesotans.  Hogs are the top livestock commodity in the state.

LOGISTICS/TRANSPORTATION

Access to the Great Lakes, the St. Lawrence Seaway, and the Atlantic Ocean, as well as to the Mississippi River and the Gulf of Mexico, helps make Minnesota a major marketing and distribution center for the upper Midwest.  Minneapolis-St. Paul ranks fifth among U.S metropolitan areas for transportation infrastructure. 

LIFE SCIENCES

Minnesota ranked 14th among states in biotech growth leadership. There are 585 FDA approved medical device establishments currently in Minnesota and Minnesota companies and research institutions have been first in developing many important medical devices such as the implantable cardiac pacemaker, artificial heart valves., implantable drug transfusion pump, anesthesia monitors, blood pumps, the artificial urinary sphincter, the in-the-ear hearing aid, and a wireless cardiac monitoring system. Some of the US’s leading companies operate in the state including, Medtronic, 3M, Boston Scientific Scimed, St. Jude Medical, Patterson Companies, American Medical Systems, the Mayo Clinic, Amplifon USA, MGI Pharma, and others.  Between 2002 and 2006, Minnesota registered 2,333 patents in medical decides, ranking second in the nation.

 

Mayo Clinic, located in Rochester MN, is world renowned hospital and research institution, and perhaps the most famous hospital in the country.  The system employs more than 30,000 people, and half a million people from around the world chose to receive their treatment at Mayo Clinic. 

 

Furthermore, the government of Minnesota has pledged 70 million dollars in funding to promote biotechnology in the state, fund R&D and attract top scientists.   

 

R&D

 

According to Business Facilities Minnesota’s companies invested $4.5 billion in research and development in 2005, ranking 13th nationwide according to the U.S. Sourcebook of R&D Spenders. 3M and Medtronic spent more than $1.1billion each, ranking 26th and 27th among more than 2,500 U.S. companies.  In patents per capita, Minnesota ranks among the top five states, with 47 new patents registered per 100,000 residents in 2005.  Additionally The Information Technology and Innovation Foundation ranks Minnesota 11th nationwide in its “2007 State New Economy Index.” Minnesota ranked particularly high in:

·         package exports (1st)

·         high-wage traded services (4th)

·         online population (4th)

·         IT professionals (7th)

·         managerial, professional and technical jobs (7th)

·         industry investment in R&D (8th)

·         manufacturing value-added (9th)

·         e-government (9th)

 

Finally, Minnesota firms received almost 322 million dollars in venture capital during 2006.  Minnesota ranks 2^nd in the Midwest, and 14^th nationally in the amount of VC raised by companies in the state. 

 

 

ALTERNATIVE ENERGY

 

Minnesota has 16 ethanol plants and 3 bio diesel plants. Total ethanol production capacity is 620 million gallons annually. The state has a 10% mandate for ethanol and a 2% mandate for bio diesel.

 

Additionally, in 2007, the state of Minnesota pledged more than 40 million dollars to spur renewable energy research.  Much of this money will go to fund wind power initiatives, as Minnesota is home to many wind turbine manufactures such as Suzlon, Columbia Gear Corp, Wind Logics and Remmele Engineering.  Minnesota law requires that renewable energy provide 25% of the state’s power needs by 2025. 

 

INSURANCE

 

Minnesota is very strong in the insurance sector.  UnitedHealth Group, the second largest health insurer in the country is based in the state.  Other prominent insurance providers include Travelers, U.S. Bancorp, Thrivent, Financial for Lutherans, Securian Financial Group, and Federated Mutual Insurance. 

 

RETAIL

 

Minnesota is home to Target, a national “big box” retailer, and Best Buy, a large electronics chain.  The famous Mall of America, the largest mall in the United States, is also located in Minnesota.  

 

 

MANUFACTURING/INDUSTRIAL

 

Manufacturing in Minnesota accounts for about 12% of all jobs in the state. 

 

The Top 10 export groups in Minnesota for 2007 were: machinery, optical equipment/medical instruments, electrical machinery, vehicles (not including railway), plastics, pharmaceuticals, aircraft animal feed, paper and iron and steel products.

 

Minnesota is one of the nation's largest producers of iron ore. Methods developed to use lower-grade ores such as taconite have kept production up in spite of the depletion of once rich high-grade deposits. Granite (from St. Cloud) and sand and gravel production are also among the largest in the country.

 

The computer and electronic products industry was Minnesota’s largest exporting sector and exports grew to $4.4 billion in 2006. These exports accounted for about 29 percent of the state’s exports.  The manufacture of machinery (agricultural machinery, metalworking, heating and cooling, machines for making microchips) is another important export sector. 

Other manufactured products in the state include weapons and ammunition, cans, stampings, paper products (adhesive tape), printed materials (commercial print shops, newspaper and book publishers), transportation equipment (automobiles, trucks, buses), aircraft parts and wood products (plywood).

3M is a large presence in the state, and manufactures a variety of products including, adhesives, abrasives, laminates, passive fire protection, dental products, electrical materials, electronic circuits, and optical films.

 

 

http://www.deed.state.mn.us/facts/PDFs/BioTechFctsht.pdf

ww.exportminnesota.com

http://www.infoplease.com/ce6/us/A0859664.html

http://www.bea.gov/regional/gsp/action.cfm

 

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