Many of the common questions my students have about careers in agriculture center around how to get started in production agriculture. In fact, agriculture students of all ages seem to ask this question when presented with the myriad of choices available to them during the career segment of an introductory agriculture survey course. While career options in production agriculture are nearly limitless, a young person who wishes to pursue a path as an agriculture producer may find barriers to entry that, at first glance, seem nearly impossible to cross. Historically, farms are intergenerational – typically passed down from parents to children or by marriage. Substantial capital investment in land, equipment, and facilities, as well as shorter term investments in livestock or crop production inputs can seem daunting to one who doesn’t have the chance to work his or her way into the family farm. One opportunity that a number of aspiring farmers are taking advantage of is the increasing consumer preference for locally grown food.
Several best-selling books, at least a couple of films, numerous mass media articles, and television programs have presented a strong case for supporting local farmers, as well as restaurants and grocers that purchase from local producers. Words like foodshed and food miles or even more abstract concepts like sustainable agriculture and relationship marketing are becoming foremost in the minds of many consumers when they make their food purchasing choices for their families. Many have taken to heart the notion that as consumers, we vote three times each day for how and where our food is produced.
Small-scale production of high quality, high-value specialty food can be a lucrative starting point for farmers who may not have the capital to invest in conventional agriculture. By starting very small and concentrating on customer service through cultivating a relationship with each customer, innovative small producers can quickly carve their niche in a particular market. Small-scale is a relative term; to some it could mean renting five or 10 acres for vegetable production; for others it could mean cultivating herbs in a rooftop garden in the city. Some might take a conventional product and put a new spin on it, such as raising sweet corn organically or marketing lamb raised on grass. Heirloom vegetables and heritage breeds of livestock and poultry are finding their way back onto our tables. These flavorful, old breeds and varieties might otherwise have been lost if not for the dedication of a handful of dedicated seedsavers and breeders who saw (and tasted) their value and worked to maintain and distribute these antiquities.
Now more than ever, aspiring farmers are faced with an opportunity to match their interest and ability to produce a quality food product with high consumer demand for locally grown, raised, or produced food.
Skills that transfer across careers, such as excellent communication, organization, attention to detail, and time management, are important tools for success in production agriculture. The ability to grow plants and animals can be learned and improved with experience. Cultivating relationships with customers who are demanding more accountability for how their food is produced may be the best opportunity for our young people to enter production agriculture as a profession.
Matthew John is the chair of the agriculture program at Ivy Tech Community College-Columbus.