Careers in Agriculture

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- 11 - © A gCareers.com 2017
50 states of AGRICULTURE
workforce to increase in size in the next year,
citing growth strategy as the reason behind the
anticipated increase.5
Knowing all of this growth is occurring, the
opportunity is open and available to all agricultural
professionals to explore careers throughout the United
States. Agriculture can be found virtually everywhere in
America, especially when searching for opportunities in
agribusiness. Each state has their own unique
agricultural products unique to their climate, their
natural resources, and their land and soil types.
Agriculture accounts for much of the United States of
America’s economy as one of its top industries. The United
States Department of Agriculture cites that “Agriculture
and agriculture-related industries contributed $985 billion
to the U.S. gross domestic product (GDP) in 2014, a 5.7%
share.”1 The United States exports agricultural goods
and commodities throughout the world, especially to the
European Union and Asia.2
In order to continue this monumental task of supplying
vast income to the United States economy, careers in
agriculture must continue to be filled. The U.S. Bureau of
By Kristine Penning,
Labor Statistics expects “total employment in 2024 will
reach 160.3 million, an increase from 2014 of almost 9.8
million jobs.” 3 Agriculture and its related industries account
for approximately 10% of those jobs, according to the
United States Department of Agriculture. On-farm
employment accounts for more than 2.6 million jobs, and
food-related services including manufacturing account for
more than 13 million jobs, accounting for 14% of all U.S.
manufacturing jobs.4 The 2016-2017
Agribusiness HR Review found that nearly 45% of
participating agricultural employers expected their
For both rural and urban professionals, however,
roots often run deep in agriculture, and at times, talent is
kept close to home when it could make a much larger
impact elsewhere. Therefore, relocation is important to be
open-minded toward. In a 2014 study done by
, 39% of employed and 49% of
unemployed job candidates stated that they were
willing to relocate for the right job opportunity.6
Take time to explore the following pages discussing
top agricultural industries and career types by state
(according to data from ).
1 USDA ERS “Ag and Food Sectors and the Economy”
2USDA ERS “US Agricultural Trade - Exports”
3Henderson, “Industry Employment and Output Projections to 2024: Monthly Labor Review: U.S.
Bureau of Labor Statistics”
4 USDA ERS “Ag and Food Sectors and the Economy”
5 , “2016-2017 Agribusiness HR Review”
6 , “Candidate Motivation and Behavior in the Agricultural Industry”
Agriculture accounts for approximately 10% of United States jobs.