The future of agriculture looks bright as the enrollment in ag-related bachelor’s degrees has increased substantially in the past few years. A growing number of students are being drawn to ag schools around the country, not necessarily because they grew up on a farm or want to farm land, but because of the science programs within ag and the job opportunities it brings.  

Enrollment in bachelor’s degree programs in agriculture across the country grew by 21.8 percent from 2005 to 2008, from about 58,300 students to nearly 71,000, according to surveys conducted by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. And the numbers are likely higher as not all schools responded to the survey.

National enrollment figures for 2009 aren’t yet available from all schools, but numbers from major schools make clear the trend continues: The University of California-Davis has more than 5,490 students enrolled in agricultural majors — a jump of 210 from a year before. Purdue University has 2,575 ag students this fall, up 40 from last year.  

Keeping with the trend, Iowa State University saw nearly a 21 percent increase in enrollment in agriculture between 2005 and 2008.

The growing numbers are coming at a time in our history when it couldn’t be more important – United Nations reports an expected population of 9 billion in 2050, a population that will need advancements in agriculture and technology more than ever before. 

Have you noticed an increase in students choosing ag-related fields in your area?

We recently hosted a media day at Latham Hi‑Tech Seeds, and we were so happy to have Jerry Passer with the Brownfield Network attend.

Jerry wrote a wonderful post on the Brownfield blog about his visit to Alexander and what he learned about Latham’s product line offerings:

My purpose on this trip was a media day at Latham High Tech Seeds just south of the village of Alexander. John Latham is President and his wife Shannon is Vice President of this family-owned seed business started by John’s grandfather, Willard Latham in 1947. Latham’s headquarters is located in the Heartland of the Midwest in a farm setting.

John Latham and representatives of Monsanto introduced their new product lineup that combines high performing Latham seed genetics with the latest Genuity brand biotechnology traits from Monsanto Company.

To read the full article, click here.

We will be attending the Nebraska Power and Farming Show Dec. 9-10 in Lincoln, Neb., at the Lancaster Event Center. We would love to see you there. Visitors to our booth, #317, will have the chance to win prizes, as well as learn more about our new products and high-yielding seed technologies. For more information about the show, visit http://www.nebraskapowershow.com/.

Iowa Farmer Today recently posted an article written by Steven Bohr about the dire need for producers to have a good plan in place for transition of their farmland.

In the article, Bohr provided more than a few frightening statistics about current land ownership and what it could mean for the future of agriculture. Among them were the following:

1) The age of the landowner is the oldest it has been in history. In 2007, people over the age of 55 owned 78 percent of the land in Iowa. Fifty-five percent is owned by people over the age of 65, compared with 29 percent in 1982.

2) In 2008, 73 percent of farms sold were purchased by existing land owners, 3 percent by new owners and 24 percent by off-farm investors.

3) The appraised value of the land is as high as it’s ever been in history.

Bohr urges producers to begin planning for their farm’s inevitable transition now to eliminate the uncertainty of the farm-continuation process.