The growth represents a statewide economic impact of $63.7 billion per year, according to the Update on the Economic Impact of Michigan’s Agri-Food and Agri-Energy System.

“We have had difficult economic times otherwise in the state, so the notion that we have some good news about a critical sector is very important,” said Christopher Peterson, director of the Product Center for Agriculture and Natural Resources, who conducted the study.

Agri-foods include the economic contributions of agricultural production and other related industries, including food distributors and retail grocers, said Tom Kalchik, the center’s associate director.

Employing nearly a quarter of the Michigan’s workers, agri-food is the state’s second largest sector, behind the automotive industry.

The report is an update of an report published in 2004.

At the request of Don Koivisto, director of the Michigan Department of Agriculture, Peterson used data from 2006 to create a more up-to-date projection.

“It’s been two years, so (Koivisto) asked them to take a look and see how the industry has been growing,” said Heather Throne, a spokeswoman for the Michigan Department of Agriculture.

Peterson said much of the growth in Michigan’s agri-foods system can be attributed to varied agricultural output and increased ethanol production, which has grown nearly 700 percent since the 2004 study.

“We have a very diverse agricultural base, so we have opportunities to do a lot of specialty kinds of food products,” Peterson said. “In addition, we’ve had a very significant expansion of the corn ethanol industry in the state over the last two years, so when you put these two kinds of opportunities together … it spells pretty good economic times.”

Kalchik said the boom in the ethanol industry also has boosted Michigan’s agri-foods growth by driving up the prices of other commodities, such as soybeans and wheat.

“Many acres of production switch from (other crops) to corn,” he said.

While Peterson said the numbers in the report are positive for Michigan’s economy, they represent an advisory estimate. A complete report cannot be made until more census data is released.