Careers in Agriculture

Today’s Agriculture

• Years ago a career in agriculture was just considered farming for a living.
• Today there are many opportunities pertaining to agriculture
• There are approximately 21 million people employed in agriculture careers
• About 400,000 people are needed each year to fill vacancies in these positions
• ?????Of those vacancies only 100,000 are currently being filled by people trained in agriculture
• Ag. Industries employ 1/5 of all workers in the U.S.

What do you think?

• Is there a strong demand for people seeking ag. Careers or a weak demand?
• Do you think there is many opportunities to pursue and agriculture carreer?

Major Career Areas in Agriculture

• Production Ag.-(farming and ranching) involves the growing and marketing of field crops and livestock.
• Agriscience Processing, Products, and Distribution-those parts of the industry that haul, grade, process, package, and market commodities from production sources
• Pick any item of food, clothing, or other commodity. Most items can be traced back to a farm, ranch, forest, greenhouse, body of water, or other ag. Production facility.
• Hauling, Selling, Processing, Merchandising, Inspection, and Research
• All of these get the commodity to you(consumer).

Major Career Areas Contd.

• Horticulture-includes producing, processing, and marketing fruits, vegetables, and ornamentals plants(flowers, shrubs, turf grass)
• Labor Intensive
• Landscape designer, greenhouse mgr., golf course superintendent, florist, strawberry grower, veg. retailer

Major Career Areas Contd.

• Forestry-grows, manages, and harvests trees for lumber, poles, posts, panels, mulch, and others
• Jobs from growing seedling trees to marketing wood products
• Most forest jobs require use of large machines
• Some that are not labor intensive would be a cruiser, teaching, marketing, or research