BATESVILLE – Indiana is one of the leading agricultural exporting states in the nation, and jobs in the industry now include much more than farming.
We spoke with Indiana Youth Institute (IYI) President and CEO Bill Stanczykiewicz, who says the industry offers opportunities for people with degrees ranging from a high school diploma to a doctorate.
“Agribusiness is a huge business in the state of Indiana,” Stanczykiewicz notes. “As many as 300 different career opportunities are available, and we are not just talking about farmers and ranchers, who are the front line producers.”
According to Norman Borlaug, a Noble laureate who has been labeled as “agriculture’s greatest spokesman”, the U.S. will need to produce more food in the next 40 years than in the past 10,000 years combined to keep up with population growth.
Stanczykiewicz vows that while there are a number of jobs now, it is a promising industry moving forward.
“We need to make sure kids our aware of these opportunities so they can prepare themselves academically and take advantage of those job possibilities,” the IYI president said.
Agribusiness requires a variety of career fields, such as public relations to communicate about the products; lawyers to patent new products; financial services to keep track of records; and researchers and scientists to study and further the understanding of crops.
“Computer technology is also huge on the farm, certainly on the tractors and implements themselves,” Stanczykiewicz acknowledges. “The technology that is involved in drying bins now, are all computerized, so computer programmers are needed on the farm more than ever before”
“That’s an example of the wide variety within these 300 career possibilities that are available.”
Beck’s Hybrids, a family-owned and operated seed company out of Atlanta, Indiana, has increased hiring by 400 percent in the past five years, Stanczykiewicz notes.
“That’s just one employer out of countless numbers of agribusiness employers in Indiana. It shows you jobs are available now and will be available in the future.”
High schools throughout Southeast Indiana offer educational courses for students interested in studying agriculture. Children can also pursue hands-on learning through 4-H programs.
Whether someone wants to work in a city or rural area, Stanczykiewicz says, “Agribusiness needs good communication people, the [company] may have that in-house or from a firm in the city. That is the same for legal, financial and computer jobs.”
“There are so many jobs, doing so many things, based in so many areas that kids can take advantage of, anywhere in Indiana.”
