“Success happens when you BELIEVE in winning and you PREPARE to make it happen.” — Jim Craig.
For those who don’t know, Jim is an Olympic gold medalist and former goalie for the Miracle on Ice USA hockey team. I had the privilege to hear him speak this week at a conference for work. Achieving goals should never be easy, and the best things in life often require hard work, dedication, preparation and perseverance that people are not willing to work through.
When I was a sophomore in high school I was told by several influential people that agriculture wouldn’t get me anywhere in life. Why would I ever want to take so many elective ag courses? I was told they were a waste of time and to instead take more “traditional academic courses” because I could have a bright future. That level of thinking was only 16 years ago and was by far one of the best pieces of advice I never took. The opportunities in agriculture are endless, but you must believe in the vision and work toward a goal.
Today’s ag world is jam packed with Science Technology Engineering and Math opportunities. STEM is the academic buzz phrase these days and look no further than the ag world for plenty of opportunity. I look at my agronomy and energy intern class of 2018 for case and point proof that STEM skills are alive, well and applied in ag. One is a non-farm kid with a plant science background, and one has a tremendous passion for serving the dairy industry. Another is a traditional crop and soils major. Our energy intern is an ag education major working for our liquid fuels/lubricants/propane departments. They all have unique backgrounds and perspectives, yet nearly zero experience within the discipline they are working this summer. What’s the message: I don’t hire degrees, GPAs or activities. I hire the person. I am looking for the intangible communication and interpersonal skills that, in my opinion, cannot be learned. However, they are critically important to navigating the business world today. They all have a passion for STEM principles, but like me have chosen to apply these skills within agriculture.
Without a doubt, FFA, 4-H, athletics, forensics, etc., are great places to learn skills related to leadership, interpersonal communication, time management, self and team organization, and many other important traits that make good people good employees. Math, science, and technology courses provide a wonderful foundation of academic principles, but I believe the real practical application of those principles starts when people hit the job market.
There’s no doubt that agriculture is diversifying into a highly technological world that doesn’t necessarily require job candidates to be from a farm to be qualified. Data and information utilization, predictive technologies like machine learning and climate modeling, as well as sensor technology, are all specialized fields that require specific skills that have nothing to do with how a corn plant grows or what amino acid balancing is required to build a ration for a dairy cow. These technologies were mere concepts, or at NASA, 10 years ago when I graduated college, and today they are being integrated into daily used in agriculture. Think of the opportunity and technological growth the next 10 years will bring and what kind of people we need for those jobs.
Not only is technology changing, but so are people dynamics in agriculture. I work for a company with just over 3,000 employees across the Midwest and Canada. We have seen a 10-year transition from 70 percent of our workforce being baby boomers 35 percent millennials, 32 percent generation X, and 31 percent boomers today. That means there have been HUGE changes within our organization and we are not unique in these statistics. Companies across the ag industry face these same metrics, and that means there is a tremendous upside for those willing to work in ag now and in years to come.
Traditional agriculture needs people too. From cattle to crops, the average farmer in the U.S. is 58 years old. Cash flow, access to capital, risk —honestly, the work — all lead people away from production ag. We MUST support the next generation of people producing food and fiber for us as consumers. There are programs that help young farmers access low-cost capital so they can get a solid start. We can help invest in their education to lessen their learning curve, because without strong, well-educated farmers, we can all suffer.
Jim talked about goal setting and needing to have vision to set a goal, no matter what people think. He talked about the importance of then having a plan and surrounding yourself with people who can help you achieve those goals. Short of marrying my wife and deciding to have kids, ignoring those agricultural naysayers is one of the best decisions of my life. The FFA creed says, “I believe in the future of agriculture with a faith born not of words, but of deeds.” I believe with all my heart that agriculture has a bright future, and so do the people who commit to this industry, regardless of their race, creed, color, or education.
— Ben Huber is the agronomy department manager at Insight FS and the president of Green County Farm Bureau. His column appears monthly on Saturdays in the Monroe Times. He can be reached at bhuber@insightfs.com.
