ag right

Some Americans seem to think that agriculture is populated mainly by yokels who haven’t progressed past the 19th century. Young people who want a career in agriculture are dismissed by these nose-in-the-air Americans with a condescending comment.

Ironically, agriculture is arguably the hottest employment sector in the U.S. economy this spring. Young men and women graduating with degrees in agriculture or ag-related majors are highly prized by companies and organizations with job openings that need to be filled.  Contrary to what some Americans may think, these are talented young men and women who will be working in positions that require a lot of technical skill and know-how.

Read my cover story on the job outlook for college ag grads in the April 9 issue of Agweek.

Farmers, farm groups and agricultural businesses sometimes get upset about what they see as unfair treatment by government agencies or the news media or both. That displeasure can vary from annoyance to outrage.

The highest level of outrage I’ve seen came last year, after the U.S. Department of Agriculture proposed to limit the amount of potatoes served in school cafeterias. Angry potato growers denounced the proposal as making absolutely no sense scientifically, nutritionally or economically. USDA eventually backed off

The current “pink slime” controversy has generated a lot of outrage among agriculturalists, too.  Aggies’ argument: This isn’t complicated. It’s beef, it’s safe.

I’m not a scientist; I’m not qualified to assess the product. But it’s been around a long time and federal regulators say it’s safe. That’s good enough for me.

Agriculture is awash in reports. They deal with everything from crop and livestock prices to the age and gender of farmers.

Arguably the most important and closely watched report, at least on the Northern Plains,  is the annual prospective plantings report issued on the last working date of March by the National Agricultural Statistics Service, an arm of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.  The prospective plantings report — USDA’s best guess of how many acres of the various crops  will be planted — can have a big impact on crop prices and sometimes influences what area farmers end up planting.

I’ll look over the report as soon as its released on Friday (March 30) morning and get reaction from area farmers and commodity group leaders. You can read the story in the April 2 issue of Agweek.

“Evocative” is a great word that doesn’t get used often. It means bringing up strong images, memories or feelings.

It’s hard to find a term that’s more evocative than “pink slime,” or what people in the beef industry call lean, finely textured beef. Pink slime definitely conjures up some strong images; it’s captured the attention of millions of Americans.

Folks in the cattle industry say the term unfairly calls into  question whether beef is safe. They say food safety is a priority for cattle producers and the beef industry in general.

I’ll have a story on cattle producers’ take on the issue in the April 2 of Agweek.