U.S. agri-food industry faces skill gaps, survey finds

Apr 01, 2024

The U.S. agriculture and food industry are currently navigating a challenging terrain of skill gaps within its workforce. A comprehensive survey conducted by AgCareers.com sheds light on the essential skills employers are seeking and the notable deficiencies present in the job market.

Critical thinking and the ability to solve problems efficiently top the list of desirable attributes, closely followed by organizational prowess and a penchant for teamwork.

Interestingly, the survey reveals a stark disparity in the preparedness of new graduates versus experienced hires, with only 18% of new graduates meeting employers' expectations for work-ready skills, compared to 76% of seasoned professionals. This underlines a significant need for enhanced soft skill development, particularly in areas such as communication and decision-making.

Further investigation into industry-specific requirements uncovered a pressing demand for knowledge in agronomy, precision agriculture, and animal sciences, pinpointing where educational and training efforts should be concentrated.

AgCareers.com, committed to enriching the talent pool within the agri-food sector, offers this survey as a resource to guide both current and future workforce development strategies. The skills report is accessible for free to download, promising to serve as a cornerstone for addressing the skill gaps that hinder the progress of this vital industry.

Video: Learning to Wrench From Dad the Hard Way

Harvest is a week out and the farm picked this week to fall apart. The truck needs a battery, the barn curtain's got a problem, and the corn and beans are telling us we're out of time to get it all fixed.

So it's a full day of wrenching. Tork supervises while I get the truck back running, then we're out at the hog barn where one rusted up part has the whole curtain system hung up. Ladder work, cable work, and a little dad-and-son disagreement about the right way to do it. We close it out walking the fields, shelling beans and checking corn, because whether everything's fixed or not, harvest starts when harvest starts.

Chapters: 00:00 Everything breaks the week before harvest 01:00 Tork supervises while I fix the truck 12:30 Out to the barn to find the curtain problem 14:30 One rusty part hung up the whole curtain 20:00 Running the curtain cable from the ladder 24:00 Walking the beans and corn before harvest 26:30 Wrapping up

We're a 6th generation family farm in southeast Iowa showing the real ups and downs of pig farming and row crop farming. No script, just the work. Subscribe and follow along.

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