Job Growth in Agriculture Sector Outpaces Graduates

Each year an average of 57,900 job openings are created in agriculture and renewable natural resources, yet only 35,400 college degrees in agricultural-related fields are awarded in the U.S. This leaves a shortfall of 22,500 positions. According to the USDA, nearly half of upcoming job opportunities in the next five years will be in business and in management. Some 27 percent or 15,500 openings will be in science, technology, mathematics, and engineering. Another 12 percent of employment opportunities will be in educational and governmental fields. Jobs in biomaterial production and sustainable food will make up 15 percent.
“Public and land-grant universities have been anticipating this growing need and are well-positioned to educate and prepare the next generation of leaders in these fields for expected jobs in everything from e-commerce managers, to watershed scientists, to crop management consultants, to urban foresters,” says Peter McPherson.
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