USDA report indicates huge spike in ag jobs
WATSONVILLE, Calif. —While many college graduates are out pounding the pavement looking for a job, a new report from the United States Department of Agriculture indicated graduates entering the agriculture field may have a leg up on the market.
Agriculture companies such as Lakeside Organics in Watsonville have a need for college graduates. The company employs 300 people on its more than 40 vegetable ranches in Watsonville, Moss Landing and Pajaro.
The company’s operations manager said he encourages students to look into the ag business.
“The ag business is very stable because people have to eat. One farmer feeds more than 250 families,” says Lakeside Organics Operations Manager Juan Gonzalez.
The USDA report shows big demand for agriculture grads. Of the nearly 60,000 job openings each year, only 35,000 people apply.
“Probably they don’t know what’s out there. A lot of people moved away from the farm and into metropolitan areas. And stay away from rural areas,” Gonzalez said.
The report projects more than half the jobs will be in business or management, more than a quarter in science, technology, engineering and math. U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack said the field is wide open.
“In addition to the farming opportunities there are a series of other mechanisms. Whether it’s conservation or agribusiness or communications that’s the underlying message here is agriculture is something you may want to think about,” Vilsack said.
Gonzalez said they’ve hired seven college graduates in the last few years and currently have two open positions. The company hopes for more.
“It’s a field that will never go away. It’s something that is always growing, always needing people. For every farmer that drops out, there’s always three, four, five farmers trying to get in,” Gonzalez said.
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