Food production a bright spot in gloomy economy

This article by Dinesh Ramde discusses the positive things that are happening in food production even in the middle of a recession. For example, there is a growth in sales and facilities in the cheese and dairy industries. Farmers are also buying 27% more equipment because construction costs have gone down. Regarding cheese makers and distributors, John Umhoefer says their expansion is simply because cheese is a recession food. The director of Michigan's Department of Agriculture says that agriculture has helped keep the state together as they struggle with the "manufacturing downturn".
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2010/11/15/national/a000035S61.DTL