National Summit Addresses Employment Gap For Farmers

INDIANAPOLIS -- A national program, implemented at 44 high schools in Indiana, aims to educate scientifically minded Hoosiers for the agricultural industry.

The National Council for Agricultural Education and the National FFA organized the summit, Jan. 26-28 in Indianapolis.

The organizations are hoping the Curriculum for Agricultural Science Education will get more scientifically-minded Hoosiers involved in the agricultural sector. Agricultural education program leader Nancy Trivette said there’s a demonstrated need for Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematically minded agricultural experts.

“Soil science, entomology, bio-technology and plant pathology, plant and animal science… the entire field is filled with science,” Trivette said.

Trivette said the CASE program is being implemented in high schools across the country and 44 Indiana schools have adopted CASE certified teachers in order to address the large employment gap in the agricultural industry.

“We know that we are only producing 28-29,000 graduates annually to fill those 52,000 jobs,” Trivette said.

The USDA said about one-third of those jobs will be in STEM related fields.