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Women make up for over half US agriculture graduates

A recent survey shows women make up more than half of today’s agriculture graduates in the US.

Assistant dean emeritus for Purdue University’s College of Agriculture Allan Goecker says there have been some big changes since the survey began in 1980.  “The number of women graduantes probably has increased in the neighborhood of 50 to 75 percent from where we were in 1980,” he says.  “The big growth in the feminization of agriculture college graduates occurred in the 1970’s.”

He tells Brownfield that was the first big shift from a male-dominated focus in agriculture.  And today – it continues to grow.  “In the last 5 to 10 years, we’ve actually seen females as the majority of college graduates in these areas,” he says.

Every 5 years since 1980 the US Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture has measured employment opportunities for college graduates in food, agriculture, renewable natural resources, and the environment.

This report is the eighth in a series of five-year projections initiated by USDA in 1980.  A link to the full report can be found HERE.