The Michigan Agri-Business Association (MABA) put out call for help wanted, when it announced recently a major challenge for the state’s agriculture moving forward is finding and placing individuals into good-paying jobs all across rural Michigan.

“One of the biggest challenges for Michigan agriculture, if our industry is going to remain competitive in today’s economy, is finding the right people with the right skills to do the kinds of jobs we need done,” said Jim Byrum, president of the MABA. “From high-level, technologically advanced professional jobs to harvesting fruit and milking cows, we need people willing to work and help feed the world. Agriculture is getting the word out that we are hiring all skill levels, and for our industry to keep growing and driving our state’s economy, it’s important that we get people interested in agriculture and these jobs.”

Those in-demand jobs reportedly having trouble finding people include the areas of crop and soil sciences, agri-business management, agricultural logistics and transportation and animal husbandry.

Because the state’s agriculture is also satellite driven, other high-tech jobs that are in demand include fertilizer and crop-protection materials application, site-specific soil sampling and process controls in grain elevators.
With an estimated 30 percent of management-level employees in Michigan agriculture expected to retire in the next five to 10 years, replacements must be found quickly to avert a vacuum in leadership and skills that could hold back the entire industry.

Production agriculture is also in need of people to work in the fields in jobs that require hard work and long hours during the harvesting and planting seasons, which also pay well.

“At a time when other industries are scaling back, Michigan agriculture is looking to hire people, and we are simply not finding enough people with the right skills, training and temperament,” Byrum said. “On any given day, any one of our agricultural businesses could be looking to hire people right away for rewarding jobs with good pay and good benefits. Michigan production agriculture has ‘help wanted’ signs all over the place, and we need to find workers in virtually every corner of the state.”

Job-seekers can submit resume to: miagjobs@gmail.com and should include the business or employment area of interest and location within the state.

With approximately 30 percent of upper level managers in agriculture expected to retire in the next five years, the MABA said filling these positions is key to Michigan agriculture’s ability to compete in a global economy.

Current in-demand fields:

• Crop sciences
• Soil sciences
• Agri-business management
• Animal husbandry and large animal 
veterinarians
• Agricultural logistics
• Agricultural transportation
• Grain marketing
• Farm management
• Pesticide and fertilizer applicators
• Harvest workers
• Herdsmen
• Milkers
• Farm workers

For more information on the Michigan Agri-Business Association, visit www.miagbiz.org.