NDSU research data could help address Ag Tech workforce needs in North Dakota

What will the agriculture tech workforce look like in North Dakota in the next five years? Ten years? And will there be enough workers to meet those demands?

NDSU is researching ways to determine what those labor needs will be with the intent of developing and implementing a curriculum that will train students to be ready for those careers. NDSU is also looking to attract more students to the ag tech field and make those individuals industry-ready to help meet those workforce needs when they graduate.

“One of the things we’ve identified as a research need is how to attract more students to ag technology. What do the students need to know? How do we make ag graduates from NDSU more industry-ready?” NDSU Agriculture Tech program manager Aaron Reinholz said.

A team led by Adam Marx, NDSU associate professor of agricultural education, and Brooke Thiel, NDSU assistant professor of agricultural education, is working to collect data from college students to find out their interests in ag tech and why they chose their major or career path.

“The number of kids growing up on farms and in rural communities is decreasing,” Thiel said. “We know that one of the predictors of career interest in agriculture is exposure to the industry, either through parents, family members, or close friends. As youth become more removed from agriculture, we anticipate fewer young people will naturally develop an awareness of careers in agriculture. Thus, it is becoming more important to explore what young people know about agriculture across North Dakota and how that knowledge and awareness may influence their career decision-making.”

The research is part of the Food, Energy and Water Security initiative at NDSU, which is supported by USDA-ARS funding. The FEWS initiative addresses many key issues facing food, energy and water resources today, strongly emphasizing technology and research.

Marx said the team is working on a systematic review of literature related to young adults' career decision-making.

“We will pilot a study with current college students in agricultural majors to better understand the things that impacted their decisions to choose their career paths,” Marx said. “This work will additionally help inform how we help connect people to the diverse agricultural careers we have in North Dakota and beyond, in hopes of helping to fill the industry’s demand for an engaged workforce.”

The team explored the actual ag-sector employment demand in North Dakota with the help of Job Service North Dakota reports and prospectus. Analysis of that data showed the scope of agriculture careers was narrower than the actual scope of agricultural careers. For example, within the JSND, which is aligned with federal job classifications, many careers are mainly on-farm and farm labor positions.

“We decided to align a deeper review of agriculture-related careers with content areas we see in the College of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Natural Resources here at NDSU,” Marx said. “What that ultimately revealed is what we believe to be a more accurate picture of agricultural career demand in the coming decade, which accounts for blue- and white-collar fields extending from education to engineering and finance to field work.”

“The intent is to use the survey data to guide the development of experiences that would lead young adults to consider careers in agriculture,” Thiel said. Determining the future needs of North Dakota’s agriculture workforce includes conducting national agricultural literacy surveys of high school students. Agricultural literacy refers to the knowledge and understanding of food, how it is produced and processed, and agriculture's vital role in our daily lives and economy.

“To meet the agricultural workforce needs in North Dakota, we need to be recruiting and training employees from all walks of life. However, retaining the youth from North Dakota in the agricultural industry should be a top priority for our state. Hopefully, by encouraging young people to prepare for and enter careers in agriculture, the state and industry can flourish.”