Ag jobs outnumber available graduates

BISMARCK, N.D. - The bad news is that a downward ag economy will tighten belts for companies hiring in agriculture. The good news is there will still be more jobs available than graduates pursuing them, according to speakers at a recent event for youth, sponsored by the North Dakota Stockmen's Association.

The NDSA hosted a Top Hand Beef Leadership Summit, aimed at ages 14 to 20. The group heard from academic and business professionals, and toured working cattle ranches and facilities.

Carmel Miller, an associate professor of Agriculture, Technology and Natural Resources at Bismarck (N.D.) State College, said there are predictions there are more than 50,000 jobs available for students with agriculture degrees, and there were only 30,000 students emerging annually with those degrees. "Those jobs still need to be filled and the ag industry is still a place to find jobs," she said.

5 sought skills

Miller discussed the findings of a survey conducted by AgCareers.com, a place where employers and prospective employees can share information.

The top five "employability skills" were:

• Communication - Being able to talk, speak and listen, and "have a presence and communication well with others.

• A sense of urgency - Employers are looking for workers that are "go-getters, who want to know everything about the business, and learn it fast," she said. They don't want a lackadaisical attitude displayed by some people, that "if I don't learn it today, I can learn it tomorrow, or maybe I don't even have to learn this."

• Professionalism - This means dressing appropriately, speaking clearly. "It means knowing there is a difference between professional and personal opinion" on the job, and when to know whether to talk and give an opinion.

• Life-long learning - Employers want well-rounded curiosity and interest in a wider world, she said. "Just because you're in livestock doesn't mean you're not interested in art, or history, or farming and other industries," Miller said.

• Problem-solving - This means being able to solve a problem yourself rather than waiting for someone to help you.

More services

Miller said agriculture has changed in ways that expand agricultural careers.

In the past, agriculture was fairly stable. For example, cattle prices followed a pattern and trend. "Prices would maybe go down for five years and then up for five years," she explained. "People would know kind of their financial status for a long time. Maybe it wasn't a high financial status, but at least they knew where they stood."

In the past decade there were fantastic returns in agriculture, and now there are some steep downturns.

"What's problematic about it is there's more volatility, and farmers and ranchers aren't able to forecast what prices they're going to get. It's much harder to market," she said. "Also, technology has changed to be more efficient and mechanized." Farms are getting larger.

"Also, people are more interested in their food," she said. "People who have nothing to do with agriculture have more interest in how you farm or raise your animals."

All of the changes have opened opportunities in the service sector of agriculture. Farm owners might perform less mechanical work, less equipment operation, and might depend on professional services for marketing and accounting services. "All these service sector jobs are available that maybe weren't there a couple decades ago," she said.

Outside the box

Salaries for agricultural students remain strong.

Two-year associate degree students at age 20 can start at $45,000 in agronomy, but other students might start at $15 an hour, which translates to about $31,200 a year. National surveys show that animal science bachelor's degree-earners can start at $75,000. "I tend to think that's a little high for our area," she said.

She expects a downward trend in some jobs because of the down commodity prices. "I think we're seeing that most drastically in the equipment dealers," she said. "There have been some layoffs. I expect the agronomy thing will slow down. Farmers will save on inputs and have to cut somewhere in order to make a living."

Bill Price, owner of Price Cattle Ranch, Missouri River Feeders and Global Beef, talked about his world of agriculture.

Nine years ago, he and others launched a company that brings beef seed stock to Kazakhstan. He told students "when you look regionally, there is a glut" of agricultural production, but "globally, there is more demand than ever before."

Price urged the attendees to look more globally than regionally and to look at everything agriculture has to offer - cattle, hogs and dairy - but also other elements of agriculture. "No. 1, they should go to an ag school and get an education, and hopefully they can grow from that," he said. "I would be learning different languages - more Russian, Spanish, German, Chinese and Korean. The market has gone so global," he said. "Somebody has to deal with these countries to sell our products. Who can talk their language?"