Michigan State University is reporting something this fall that hasn’t been the case for 40 years: Agriculture is back, and in a big way.
In the 1980s, it seemed like agriculture was a dying occupation. Farm-Aid concerts were held to try and help family farmers, conglomerates were taking over, and subsidies and accounts of farmers dumping grain and milk rather than sell it dominated the news.
Food, energy and the environment have all been strong areas of agricultural research since then and Michigan State says that almost 5,000 students are in their College of Agriculture and Natural Resources this fall. Those students are not in training to write Greenpeace fundraising brochures, they are interested in promoting 21st century science solutions to food insecurity and energy and the environment.
What else makes it popular? Eighty-nine percent job placement for graduates. And an even better sign for students is that only 60 percent of available jobs will be filled by current enrollments in agricultural science. It is an area that can’t find enough qualified people.
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Their undergraduate enrollment is 4,235, an increase of 335 students from last year and much higher than in decades. Agriculture, Food and Resource Economics are most popular but Community Sustainability, Food Science and Human Nutrition, and Forestry have also seen double-digit growth.
“The college’s popularity is fueled by a variety of factors,” said Kelly Millenbah, associate dean of the CANR and director of the Office of Academic and Student Affairs. “The growing demand for agriculture and natural resources students in the workforce, the fact that more and more students are learning that majors in the CANR are STEM (science, math, engineering and technology)-focused careers; and the fact that our students appreciate the opportunity to do as well as learn.”
