Career Day

In an effort to combat the growing myth that the agriculture industry does not present professional opportunities for young people entering the workforce the Washington State Department of Agriculture and the Washington Future Farmers of America have put together Career Day events October 3 through the 11 for high school students in five agricultural communities around the state. WSDA’s Jason Kelly addresses the myth.

KELLY: Yeah, there’s this perception that there’s not a future in agriculture. Well, last time I checked everybody eats three times a day, or at least they should. We know that agriculture has always been a bright spot for Washington state’s economy, and it’s going to continue. Many of these students grew up on farms. They know that myth of no future in agriculture is unfounded. They’re interested in exploring what options they may have, either running their own operation or supporting other farmers and food processing.

Kelly says there very well could be a future for many of these students with the WSDA.

KELLY: We’ve got 600 positions here at the Department of Agriculture, and in some of our programs we’re looking at a significant number of retirements in the next few years. We have our own professional development education here. We can take folks who are interested in agriculture and who want to launch a career, and we can train them up and they can have a successful, lifelong career here at WSDA.

Tomorrow Kelly talks about the different ag industries being highlighted at the Career Day events.

I’m Lacy Gray and that’s Washington Ag Today on the Northwest Ag Information Network.