SIC 5191 Farm Supplies

SIC 5191

This category covers establishments engaged in the wholesale distribution of animal feeds, fertilizers, agricultural chemicals, pesticides, seeds, and other farm supplies, except grains. Establishments primarily engaged in the wholesale distribution of pet food are classified in SIC 5149: Groceries and Related Products, Not Elsewhere Classified; those distributing pet supplies are classified in SIC 5199: Nondurable Goods, Not Elsewhere Classified.

NAICS CODE(S)

424910

Farm Supplies Wholesalers

444220

Nursery and Garden Centers

The range of items distributed by wholesale farm supply establishments is wide, including such disparate products as alfalfa, beekeeping supplies, flower and field bulbs, harness equipment, hay, insecticides, agricultural lime, pesticides, phosphate rock, garden flower seeds, and straw.

According to D&B Sales & Marketing Solutions, there were a total of 16,000 farm supplies establishments in 2006. That number was down nearly 7 percent from 2003. Total annual sales in the industry was $53.8 billion, which represented a 9 percent increase over 2003 sales. The industry reported 113,057 employees in 2006, down from 122,449 employees in 2003.

Farm supplies represented the largest segment of the industry. They numbered 4,251 establishments, and their combined sales totaled $10.1 billion. Fertilizer and fertilizer materials numbered 1,928 establishments, with $14.15 billion in sales. There were 4,348 establishments in the feed and animal feeds sectors with combined sales of $8.4 billion. States with the highest number of establishments were Texas with 1,417, California with 1,059, Iowa with 890, and Illinois with 846.

In 2001, farmer cooperatives increased their share of overall farm supply sales to just under 30 percent. In the same year, co-op net business volume of major farm supplies totaled $24.8 billion. These statistics gathered by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) in conjunction with the Rural Business-Cooperative Service (RBS) included petroleum sales amounting to $8.4 billion. Notwithstanding the inclusion of petroleum sales, sales of other supplies increased as well: fertilizer sales were up 4 percent over 1999 levels, and seed sales increased a whopping 40 percent from 1999 levels for farmer cooperatives selling farm supplies.

Just over 28,000 companies operated businesses of this nature in 1996, with overall sales of an estimated $56 billion...