News

Students unaware of ag opportunities

A recent survey by Monsanto finds only 13 percent of high school and college students are interested in a career in agriculture.

The survey last month, sponsored by America’s Farmers Grow Ag Leaders, found only one in five students understood the wide variety of career opportunities in the industry and only 35-percent of respondents believed ag careers were technology driven.

Of the 1,000 participants, 45-percent were “extremely or very interested” in a career in technology, 40-percent were interested in a career in arts and entertainment, followed by healthcare.

The USDA says nearly 58,000 high-skilled jobs are created each year in food, agriculture, renewable natural resources and environmental fields.

The Grow Ag Leaders program will award more than $500,000 in scholarships in 2017 to students across the country in an effort to raise awareness about job prospects in agriculture.