The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) released a new report showing the tremendous demand for recent college graduates with a degree in agricultural programs. There is an estimated 57,900 high-skilled job openings annually in the food, agriculture, renewable natural resources and environment fields in the United States, according to a USDA news release.
The employment outlook report released by USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) and Purdue University says there is an average of 35,400 new U.S. graduates with a bachelor’s degree or higher in agriculture-related fields, 22,500 short of the jobs available annually.
The report projects almost half of the job opportunities will be in management and business. Another 27 percent will be in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) areas. Jobs in food and biomaterials production will make up 15 percent, while 12 percent of the openings will be in education, communication and governmental services.
The report also shows that women make up more than half of the food, agriculture, renewable natural resources and environment higher education graduates in the United States.
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