“I was born and raised on a farm,” Roth said. “And as I grew older, I really enjoyed what I was doing and became passionate (about it).”

Although juggling school, work and a social life makes his schedule demanding, his love for farming makes it worthwhile, Roth said.

“I wouldn’t spend the gas money to go home if I didn’t like what I was doing,” he said. “It might seem strange to like to work, but I really enjoy being out in the field and working with the cattle.”

And despite the state of the economy, increasing job opportunities in agriculture are making a career in farming more attainable for Roth and many other MSU students.

Moving forward
Nationally, the Department of Agriculture, or USDA, predicted about 52,000 annual job openings from 2005-10. About 49,300 qualified graduates in agricultural degree fields will graduate this year, according to the department.

Retirements play a significant part in the increase. About half of current farmers will retire in the next decade, according to the department.

But the role retirements play has been changing because fewer farms will continue through families, said Tom Coon, MSU Extension director.

“In the past, a lot of the farms have been handed down in the family,” he said. “Certainly a lot of (children) won’t (continue with the family farm) — there will be others who will enter (the field in their place).”

The constant need for food production also fuels the industry, said Larry Zink, industry relations and outreach coordinator in the MSU Department of Agricultural, Food and Resource Economics.
“People eat two, three full meals a day at restaurants and at home,” he said. “Unlike the auto industry, people don’t have to buy a car every day, people don’t have to buy a computer everyday, but people have to eat everyday.”

The natural resources in Michigan make the state a prime location for farming as well, Coon said.
“We have a variety of soil types and microclimates, so we can have different crops that are very well suited to different locations,” he said. “Being close to the lakes we get a lot of moderation of the weather and that makes it more favorable to grow more of the fruit crops.”

The increase in job openings means more opportunities for students graduating with degrees from the MSU College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, or CANR, said Jill Cords, a field career consultant with the college.

About 55 percent of students in the CANR who graduated in May or the summer of 2009 reported finding employment within a year after graduation, an 8 percent higher placement rate than the overall university, according to the 2009 Graduate Destination Survey.

Agriculture boasts “more jobs available than we have students,” said Doug Buhler, interim dean of the CANR.

The increasing need for farmers also leads to a rising need for students trained in fields related to farming, Cords said.

“We also need the same amount of people to become food scientists,” she said. “There’s a lot of support in Michigan economy — the growing industry in the last few years has been agriculture, (like) the auto industry has been (in the past).”

Animal science freshman Jake Gillis wants to work with animals — such as cows, his favorite animal ­— but his interest in medicine deterred him from a career in farming. He plans on combining his interests as a large animal farmer after graduation, he said.

“One thing I’ve always liked about dairy veterinary (is that) it affects humans too,” Gillis said. “I have to make sure the cows are healthy for human consumption — the milk needs to be healthy (for people to drink it).”

Back to the roots
As the first institution of higher education in the U.S. to teach scientific agriculture, MSU has a history of preparing students to work in agriculture after graduation.

And despite budget cuts and a potential restructuring of the college, including morphing 13 departments into eight, cutting 25 percent of administrative faculty and potentially shrinking south campus farm operations, the CANR still is working to prepare students to enter the market, Buhler said.

“The budget issues are clearly not a reason to discourage students,” Buhler said.

Animal science senior Nate Lippert won’t be around if changes are made to the college’s programs. But still he worries about the effect they might have on other students, he said.

“I hope (program cuts) don’t happen here,” Lippert said. “This is a good school for agriculture — (it) teaches a lot of what kids need (to work in the career field).”

Along with the “rigorous curriculum,” students have access to the farming facilities south of campus to supplement their in-class learning, Cords said.

Unlike other universities, the farming facilities, such as the Dairy Cattle Teaching and Research Center, are more accessible to students and researchers because of their proximity to campus, said Bob Kreft, farm manager of the center.

“I’m just glad that we have this unique situation where cows are so close to main campus they are able to be utilized for teaching, for research, in our animal science department and also with our veterinary school classes,” he said.

Connections with the agricultural businesses benefit students both looking for internships and full-time employment, Cords said.

More than 50 businesses recruited at the college’s fall 2010 career fair, including the Michigan Department of Agriculture, Land O’Lakes and divisions of the USDA.

With the help from career advisers, May 2010 agribusiness management graduate Andy Hruby worked at three internships and was offered five full-time positions before he graduated.

His internships not only gave him “the most real world experience,” they helped connect him with his future employer, he said.

“You learn more actually doing something than you do in the classroom,” Hruby said. “(And with) the contacts from my three internships, I know people all over the U.S.”

For Lippert, his experience working for about four and a half years at the Dairy Cattle Teaching and Research Center has led him one step closer to landing his dream job as a dairy herdsman.

“I’ve learned a lot of hands-on things at the farm, but when I go into the classroom, I learn a lot about nutrition and genetics,” he said.

“It’s taught me a lot — I’ve learned way more than I’d ever imagined.”