Yesterday (Tuesday) was National Agriculture Day, and several Ag groups expressed their concern over the stark shortage of agricultural talent in Ag-related careers. A recent national survey conducted by ORC International on behalf of Land O’Lakes shows a decline in the number of young people planning to work in the agriculture industry. In fact, only three percent of college graduates and nine percent of Millenials surveyed have or would consider such a career. The USDA job report underscores the survey findings showing that more than 20,000 agriculture jobs go unfilled each year. Lydia Botham, executive director of the Land O’Lakes Foundation, said with the need to produce more food in the next 40 or 50 years than in the previous 500 years combined, we must focus on attracting the next generation of Ag workers to the highly-skilled, well-paid career opportunities. Failing to do so, she said, may lead to severe consequences. The most common misconceptions revealed in the survey that need to be overcome are that Ag careers do not pay well and that workers wear boots and overalls to work every day.
