A lot of people question me when I emphasize the importance of agriculture and job development in the field. As a former 4-H member, I knew from a young age that agriculture is an extremely important part of our lives here in the US. It is important, whether you would like to believe it or not.
Agriculture is a growing industry. It's currently the largest employer nationwide with over 22 million people working in some phase of the process from growing to distribution.
In Pennsylvania alone, almost 75,000 new and replacement job openings are expected between 2015 and 2025 which is a 15 percent growth in the workforce.
Jobs aren't currently sparse either. In 2012, schools such as Iowa State University reported a 95 percent job placement for graduates from the colleges of engineering and agriculture and wages which could start at between $50,000 and $60,000. These students were being hired in a variety of jobs, many with the DuPont Pioneer company.
Jobs in agriculture can range from being a farm worker to a dairy farmer to an advertiser for agriculture products to developing seeds and new growing technologies. There are places for people with many types of degrees in agriculture.
Despite common belief, many farmers have college degrees in agriculture, animal science, horticulture or a related field. Schools such as Penn State saw enrollment in agriculture programs increase by more than 40 percent between 2004 and 2012.
Programs such as FFA and 4-H try to emphasize the importance of agriculture to students across the country no matter what their background is.
FFA (formally known as Future Farmers of America) has some of the largest programs in the most unlikely places, including Walter Biddle Saul High School in Philadelphia which averages 500-600 members. Anyone can become involved in agriculture, and we need to teach that.
Now I know some may be opposed to advertising agriculture as a viable job field. Here's what I have to say to you: agriculture isn't only for big business. Individuals, family partnerships or family corporations own 99 percent of U.S. farms with fewer than 10 stockholders while .4 percent are non-family corporation owned farms and ranches.
Agriculture is a viable option for those pursuing an education or wishing to change professions, and it needs to be advertised as such. While we are teaching youth through 4-H and FFA, other students across the country should be introduced to agriculture just like they are to fields such as engineering and nursing.
It's important for our future as a country and as a world, and it shouldn't be discounted. Once we get over the stigma ourselves, maybe we can extend that newfound opinion of agriculture to the rest of the world.
