America's agriculture industry has a problem. It can’t find enough qualified college graduates to fill new jobs. A recent report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture shows there will be close to 60,000 jobs opening up in the agriculture and food industries each year for the next five years….. about two open jobs for every qualified graduate. Universities throughout the Midwestern farm belt are ramping up their agricultural studies departments to close the gap. Animal Sciences professor Kevin Pond of Colorado State University says most of his current students don’t come from a farm background. “The truth is, in animal science, it’s 80 percent female, 90 percent urban,” Pond says. “The new minority is a white male from a rural background.” Pond says many recent college grads want to move major cities for their first jobs not to rural, agricultural areas. Officials at the U.S. Department of Agriculture say private companies need to do a better job working with universities to attract students.
Find an in-depth report here on the shortage of qualified agricultural studies graduates by Harvest Public Media's Luke Runyon.