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By
Christine Imbs
If you’re like most people your idea of agriculture is the farmer
in the dell, plowing his field and milking his cows. But today
agriculture is much more than cows, plows and sows. Agribusiness
has become a major industry leaving many employers scrambling
to find qualified employees. And area schools and universities
are taking note.
“We’re moving from an agrarian society to an urban kind of rural
non-farm society,” explains Dean Dittmar, out-going president
of the St. Louis Agribusiness Club and district 5 program advisor
for Facilitating Coordination in Agricultural Education. “Schools
and universities are going from an agriculture production curriculum
to an agribusiness culture. In Illinois we’ve tripled Ag education
over the last 10-12 years and this is equally true in Missouri.”
Agribusiness includes all aspects of agriculture production,
processing and distribution. This includes food, forest and
fiber production; agricultural equipment; inputs and chemicals;
biotechnology and research; Ag services; advertising and marketing;
transportation and trade; land management and finance; environmental
technology and conservation; and food and beverage manufacturing.
Being in the very heart of the heartland, the St. Louis region
has more of these types of businesses than most geographical
areas. As a result the total economic output for St. Louis’
agribusiness industry is 23 percent, more than 12 percent of
the total $173 billion output for all industries in the region
combined.
Of course this impacts employment. The top ten most productive
industries in the region according to the University of Missouri’s
workforce information system include breweries and distilleries,
pesticide and agricultural chemical manufacturing, and pet food
manufacturing—the top three agribusiness sectors. Anheuser-Busch,
Monsanto and Nestlč-Purina, who fall into these categories,
are among the region’s top employers, accounting for over 10,000
jobs. And according to the 2000 Ag Census and U.S. Department
of Commerce, the agribusiness industry in the St. Louis region
will create 330,317 new jobs. The problem, however, will be
filling them.
“Right now, we’re just not meeting the demands of the industry,”
says Lucas Maxwell, coordinator of recruitment, retention and
placement at Southern Illinois University-Carbondale. “A national
study by the USDA and Purdue University says that between 2005
and 2010 annual employment opportunities within the industry
will be a little more than 52,000 jobs. The real shocker is
that agriculture and natural resources programs across the nation
are only graduating about 32,000 students each year. Do the
math and you’re looking at a 25,000 to 30,000 individual shortfall.”
Maxwell says part of the reason for this shortage is that the
industry has changed so much, companies that previously had
a freeze on hiring are now demanding more graduates to fill
vacancies. They’ve even gone so far as to offer students jobs
right on the spot after being interviewed. Also, many companies
are diversifying, creating opportunities in areas that perhaps
hadn’t been there a few years earlier.
“It’s just amazing. These companies are so hungry for qualified
individuals,” Maxwell says. “And that bodes well for our graduates.
If they come out of one of our programs they’re obviously going
to be well-prepared. And if they have the drive and the initiative,
they’re going to start out in a position of making a good salary
with the opportunity to advance quite rapidly through a company.”
But despite this promising outlook, recruiting students into
these programs is not as easy as you’d think. They just don’t
associate the word “agriculture” with these positions. Paul
Vaughn, associate dean of academic programs for students at
the University of Missouri-Columbia, says getting people to
think outside of the box where agriculture is concerned is one
of their biggest hurtles.
“When we recruit students we don’t even talk about agriculture,”
he says. “Of course we don’t want to get too far away from agriculture
because we’re proud to be associated with it. But at the same
time, we want to make sure people aren’t turned away with a
negative image. I’d say we have over 2,000 undergraduates in
our college and less than three percent are studying to go back
on the farm. All the rest are looking at the more non-traditional
areas.”
Considering the nature of these non-traditional areas, it’s
no wonder that people are a bit confused. In addition to traditional
farm production, the agricultural umbrella also includes agriculture
education, agriculture systems management; tourism and hospitality,
forestry, fisheries and wildlife, pharmaceuticals, food nutrition,
landscaping, turf management, floral design, captive animals,
horticulture, golf course management, parks and recreation,
biotechnology, recreational activities, restaurant management,
and athletic facilities.
“People just don’t think about these areas as being part of
agriculture,” comments Kurt Range, agriculture and horticulture
coordinator for Southwestern Illinois College. “Athletic facilities,
for example, is a huge area. Of course if you look at the economics
there are only the chosen few, but if you can get some experience
you could end up being grounds maintenance for Busch Stadium
or for the Gateway Grizzlies. We have a graduate working for
the Grizzlies now. The pharmaceutical aspect is also a big thing,
although not a lot of people realize it. And at SWIC we even
have floral design courses with whole classes on wedding and
funeral arrangements.”
Of course educating the public takes time, not to mention a
great deal of effort. Range, who is not only in agriculture
education, but owns a small family farm, calls it a labor of
love.
“Nothing gives me more pride than talking to people and helping
them understand what agriculture and horticulture are all about,”
he says. “I feel it’s my job to get rid of some of those stereotypes.
So I make it a personal thing to get the word out how great
an advantage this is and how wonderful a life it is.”
Fortunately Range’s and others’ efforts are beginning to pay
off. A shift is taking place in the enrollment of the region’s
colleges and universities into non-traditional agriculture programs.
“We’re definitely out there telling the story and pushing hard
to attract students in these areas,” says Dwight Sanders, professor
of agriculture economics at SIU-Carbondale. “We may not be seeing
much growth in the university’s enrollment as a whole, but there
is definitely growth in those areas that we’ve identified as
non-traditional areas in agriculture. I think if you spoke with
some of the other universities they’d say the same thing. So
growth is happening. And what’s more, our students are easily
finding employment.”
Ag
Ed Enrollment Growing in High Schools
With the agriculture industry such a major economic factor—it’s
responsible for 16.3% of the Gross Domestic Product in the
United States not to mention 23 percent of the St. Louis
region’s total economic output—it's no wonder colleges and
universities are seeing an increase in the number of students
enrolled in agriculture programs. But interest at the high
school level is also growing.
Since 1985, high school agriculture enrollment has increased
steadily and is currently at an all time high. In Missouri,
257 comprehensive high schools and 44 area vocational schools
offer agriculture courses with over 26,000 students enrolled.
Illinois high schools with Ag Ed programs total 311 with
over 26,000 unduplicated students and close to 36,000 duplicated
students. Duplicated students take multiple classes on a
yearly basis. Nationally, high school Ag Ed enrollment tops
775,000.
Mary Jackson, who teaches Ag Ed at Highland High School
in Highland, Illinois, says the agriculture industry as
a whole is changing and agriculture education has changed
with it.
“We’ve offered agriculture classes here for a long time.
But in Ag Ed today there is a lot of emphasis on science
and biotechnology,” she explains. “But some kids come in
with a tunnel-vision that agriculture is strictly farming.
So we’re trying to change that. There are millions of opportunities
out there and very few people in the Ag industry actually
farm. I think it’s important that we be able to teach our
kids about the new and upcoming areas in Ag Ed.” |
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