Life. It goes hand in hand with agriculture. Yet many turn a blind eye and a deaf ear toward the word "agriculture."

Today's educators, however, say agriculture is not cliche. In fact, there aren't enough college agriculture graduates to fill the multitude of career positions worldwide, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture studies.
Texas A&M University's College of Agriculture and Life Science plans to change that.

AgForLife, an educational career choice program, was revealed by the college today as a tool to boost enrollment, not only at the Texas school but across the nation.

"We at Texas A&M are going to reverse the trend of students not understanding opportunities that agriculture affords," said Dr. Elsa Murano, vice chancellor and dean of agriculture and life sciences. "We'll change that trend by offering unparalleled excellence in the education of our students to prepare them for careers that are vital to our nation."

That goal plus an overall awareness campaign of agriculture's unique career opportunities should entice students, she said.

Texas A&M has long enjoyed a prestigious scholarly reputation in a state where cattle and cotton are called "king" in agriculture. But the reigning commodities in recent decades have increasingly needed fewer producers due to technology advances. Thus, fewer college freshmen show up seeking degrees that will prepare them to grow crops or raise livestock.

While that may be OK, according to the college's assistant dean Edward Romero another facet of the state's multi-billion-dollar industry has been lost on the upcoming generation of college students: Cattle and cotton are but needles in the haystack of all careers that demand agriculture degrees.

"One in five working Texans is employed in some form of agriculture," according to the Texas Department of Agriculture Web site, and "for every dollar spent on agricultural commodities, more than $3 are pumped into other sectors of the economy – such as transportation and processing – generating $80 billion a year."

But the university's agriculture faculty believe many of the industry's employees – such as food processing company managers, for example – may not connect their dots to agriculture. Likewise, for enrolling students, there is a huge disconnect between popular career choices and agriculture degrees, college officials agreed.
Pablo Ramirez can speak for that. A native of Colombia, South America, Ramirez came to study at Texas A&M because "people in my country know what a good reputation it has for teaching agriculture."

Ramirez left a company that helped coffee growers diversify into tilapia production so that he could pursue a master's in agribusiness. His studies have taken him far from farm fields. This summer, for instance, Ramirez interned in New York for a company that handles agricultural commodities worldwide.

"That is what I would like students to know," Ramirez said. "With an agriculture degree, a student can get high-paying jobs almost anywhere in the world. A person can find a career across a wide variety of interests because of an agriculture degree."

Enrollment of undergraduates in the agriculture college grew steadily through 2003 but has tapered off to just under 5,200, according to Dr. Gene Nelson, executive associate dean of agriculture at Texas A&M.

What may not be understood by entering freshmen and the counselors who guided them through high school is that jobs are to be had in agriculture.

A 2005 study by the USDA's Cooperative State Research, Education and Extension Service predicted a shortfall of about 2,700 qualified people for jobs through 2010. About 32,300 new graduates from the nation's colleges of agriculture and life sciences, forestry and veterinary medicine take jobs in the industry each year, the study noted.

The lack of qualified employees might be remedied if entering students realized the potential for top careers that agriculture can spawn, Nelson said.

"People, in general, believe that agriculture means only farming and ranching," Romero said. "That's no longer true. There are so many more opportunities now – from food to human health. People just don't realize it."
Romero said the AgForLife concept, which he co-developed with Ramirez, stems from an idea of helping high school students visualize the many opportunities that can be had with an agriculture degree.

He started formulating the idea for the program after serving on a national panel of agriculture educators, industry and human resources officials brought together by an industry placement service called agcareers.com. 

"In all our talks, the theme seemed to be that there is a lack of understanding about our industry," Romero said.
From that experience, Romero and Ramirez designed a new tool to attract students. It's a multi-color map which visually displays how an agricultural degree may lead to careers as varied as journalism, pharmaceuticals, restaurant management, human health, shipping and finance, to name a few.

A student who would like to work in government, for example, might look at any of the nearly 30 potential majors listed on the map and see how the degree is connected to positions with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Environmental Protection Agency, or the departments of interior or agriculture. From that, potential jobs may include pollution control manager, forest ranger and even international positions.

"It's about helping a student find the career of his or her dreams, not just a job," Romero said.

For Romero, the situation isn't just one of attracting more students to enroll in agriculture for the sake of the college or university. Instead, it's a supply/demand scenario that could spell disaster for the nation's food supply and economics should consumers become dependent on shipments of food from foreign countries.

"Educators must link with employers to make sure top-notch students enter agricultural degree plans and choose careers aimed at keeping the industry viable," he said.

Dale Pracht, a liaison between the college and the university's Career Center, said the map is useful for him in helping connect students with jobs and internships. But Pracht also noted that the map is a vehicle he can use to help employers find top quality students for positions in the industry.

"It helps students explore the big picture," he said. "And it helps companies determine what is out there in the way of students with the type of degrees that pertain to their industry. Agriculture degrees provide majors with a tremendous amount of transferrable skills. We'd like people to see the importance of hiring someone with an agriculture degree."

Romero and Ramirez copyrighted and trademarked the map through the Texas Agricultural Experiment Station, which is part of the Texas A&M University System. Agcareers.com owner Eric Spell is the licensed distributor of the map as a career guide.

"AgForLife will show students the fun, untraditional and rewarding career opportunities that the agriculture industry holds," Spell said. "So far, the support for AgForLife has been overwhelming. We have secured a number of association supporters, employers and most importantly are receiving e-mail from students using the AgForLife.com site to learn more about the possibilities in agriculture."

"I think the map will be very useful for companies and human resources," Romero said. "And it will be especially good for helping high school teachers and counselors show students the many opportunities that agriculture offers."