KIMT NewsChannel 3, IA

01-30-07

Time to Harvest Ag Jobs

Anthony Welsch

KIMT NewsChannel 3

It’s a good time to have an agri-business degree. According to career experts at Iowa State University, the business side of the agriculture industry is in full bloom.

For the roughly 2,500 students studying agriculture and related fields at Iowa State University in Ames, it'll be an uphill battle for most of them to get a farm of their own. Even, if they've got parents or grandparents in the biz.

"It's hard to start on your own because it's so capital intensive. So it's kind of nice to have Dad or Grandpa so you can kind of ease into it, but like I said, there is no opportunity now,” Ryan Roetman, a Senior at I.S.U. tells KIMT NewsChannel 3.

So students like Roetman who love farming are finding different paths to get into the fields. He's a business-finance major -- taking classes through the school of business instead of the College of Agri-business. While he could try to get a job on Wall Street, he wants a job closer to a gravel street. Right now, his professors are encouraging it.

"They almost sit there and say, we'd love to be in your shoes. You have so many different opportunities,” he said.

Michael Gaul, the guy who heads career services for ISU says it's easy to see why those profs would push students toward Ag right now.

There are three main reasons why the job outlook in Agri-business is so sunny this spring.

1. The overall economy is good and business are hiring.

2. Baby boomers are retiring from their management positions in agriculture. The companies need to replace those workers.

3. Agriculture students aren’t increasing in numbers. Most schools aren’t seeing a jump in Ag-majors. I.S.U. is an exception and had some growth in last year’s admissions.

"Right now I can honestly look at you and say this is probably the best job market for agriculture, we've seen easily, in the past decade,” Michael Gaul, the Career Services Director at Iowa State tells KIMT NewsChannel 3.

He says even before the latest boom, ISU had a 96 to 98 percent job placement rate in agri-business. While it might sound tough to build on, there is more good news for grads -- starting salaries are on the rise.

"A lot our students who are leaving here in May, that took positions in Agri-business, their starting salaries are low to high 40's... Some are even getting $50,000 a year. So things have jumped up considerably,” Gaul said.

He stresses for a lot of those more successful students it’s about balance -- Internships, leadership, and overall experience in life can play a big part in landing the job students think they deserve come graduation.

But it’s still good news for students like Ryan, he'll start in May as a farm manager in Nevada.

"I love farming, this is almost as close to production agriculture or farming your own as you're going to get, so I'm extremely excited about it,” Roetman said.

He might not own it, but for a guy in his early 20's, it's the next best thing.