DOWAGIAC — It is a paradox of the times. The smaller the number of farmers the U.S. has, the more agriculture-related careers crop up.

Ninety-five students from Covert High School, Van Buren Tech, Eau Claire, Cassopolis and Countryside Academy, near Benton Harbor, learned that fact at Southwestern Michigan College’s annual Agriculture Careers Day hosted on Feb. 12.

“The number of farms peaked in the 1940s, but the average size of each farm has gone up to about 450 acres,” said Dr. Ron Goldy. “There are farms with tens of thousands of acres, as farmers sell to other farmers, but the number of farmers has gone down drastically. About 1.7 percent are directly involved in farming, compared to 90 percent in the 1800s.”

At the same time, one of every 12 U.S. jobs relates to farming, Goldy said. That is 22 million positions and more than 50,000 jobs available every year. There are not enough qualified graduates to fill those jobs, he said. These job openings include working in farm or greenhouse management, food science, agricultural engineers, robotics for mechanical harvesting, field pest scouts, packaging, research, inspections, farm equipment sales and service, journalism for farm publications, agricultural law, chemical and seed companies, produce brokerages and the Peace Corps.

“There may not be many farmers anymore, but you have agencies that serve farmers and agencies that take what farmers produce and are doing something with it so it can be useful to consumers,” Goldy said. “A number of growers in this area go two to three times a week to Chicago to market crops directly to farm markets. Drones are a way to reduce the amount of labor. Row crops are highly mechanized to where I could handle 1,000 acres. Vertical farming works well for leafy vegetables. You have driverless tractors. Cows aren’t hand-milked, you have rotating platforms.”

Based on their interests, students at Ag Day could choose any three of eight different breakout sessions arranged by Stacey Rocklin, the regional program coordinator for the Michigan State University Institute of Agricultural Technology at SMC.

These included an overview of animal careers with Deb Barrett, Berrien County Extension educator; veterinary sciences with Dr. Kathy Koudele; environmental stewardship with Van Buren Conservation District’s Nor Serocki, invasive species coordinator for Van Buren, Cass and Berrien counties; drones with Matt Quinn; Creative landscaping with Ryan Howard; plant health with Mike Reinke, Berrien County Extension integrated pest management educator; fruit and vegetable production with Goldy, extension educator at the Research and Extension Center outside Benton Harbor; and educational opportunities highlighted by students Shaelyn Bundy, of Dowagiac, and Andie Lee, of Hudson.

“Growing up, I wanted to be a large-animal vet and was in Van Buren Tech FFA,” Bundy said. “SMC has a phenomenal Ag program, and we’re blessed to be able to partner with MSU, so definitely take advantage if you decide to come here. On this campus, we will be offering agribusiness, fruit and vegetable production and ag operations. It was cool learning how to harvest honey from our beehive. We sold it, with the money going back to our club so we can go on field trips and to conferences. Collegiate Farm Bureau is kind of like FFA for adults.”

Bundy is working towards an associate degree through SMC and MSU, and then transferring to Ferris State University, which is also on SMC’s campus, to finish her business degree. From start to finish, Bundy will graduate with a bachelor’s degree in ag business.

Lee is transitioning from agricultural operations into agribusiness. She belonged to FFA through the Lenawee ISD Tech Center in Adrian and Hillsdale County 4-H.

“Right now, I work for MSU Extension in Berrien County,” Lee said, which resulted from her summer AmeriCorps STEAM Corps internship providing science, technology, engineering, art and mathematics youth programming.

The SMC/MSU partnership helps students earn an MSU certificate, as students can take SMC courses — and pay SMC’s tuition rate — for a portion of the program. Scholarships and financial aid are also available through the college, officials said.

SMC awards 10 $2,500 scholarships each year to students who have participated in FFA or an agricultural program through the Edward A. Guse Agricultural Scholarship.

The George Wuszke Memorial Agricultural Scholarship awards $1,000 to two qualified students in the MSU Institute of Agricultural Technology in the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources.