Non-Traditional Employee Pool

I'm Lacy Gray with Washington Ag Today.

Ag Information Network's Greg Martin spoke with Cate Sprout, human resources staffing manager with CHS at the recent NAFB convention in Kansas City about how companies like CHS, a leading global agribusiness owned by farmers, ranchers, and co-ops across the United States, have begun looking at non-traditional employee candidates to fill positions. Sprout says there are a lot of opportunities out there right now for anyone interested in having a career in agriculture.

SPROUT: We have the retirements that are going to be taking place, a demand for more food globally and so what that means for ag industry - a lot of jobs that are available, but a shortage of talent.

Sprout says that one of the reasons for that shortage of talent is their number one competitor for potential employees - the family farm.

SPROUT: Many students are getting their education but they are returning to the farm. Of course, we want to hire as many of them as we can, but then what that forces us to do is to look to that non-traditional student or that non-traditional professional that may have a sales background or a logistics background and then we're going to bring them into the industry and teach them the industry.

Sprout also said that technology has changed the skill set needs of potential employees.

SPROUT: When we think of agriculture and precision ag and even with the hedging desk, and they're tweeting things out to our producers - technology is invading agriculture. And so we need to then do what we do differently, whether it's texting, tweeting, having a presence on social media - that's where the world is today and that's where agriculture is today.

That's Washington Ag Today.

I'm Lacy Gray on the Ag Information Network.