Students' Perspectives On Farming & Ranching Careers, Agricultural Education, and Beginning Farmer Assistance Programs
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The traditional land-grant university
mission is to provide instruction in
agriculture and related fields. The
universities developed to fulfill that
mission were created in the late 1800s in
an era of relatively small-scaled,
homogenous farming operations. Today,
land-grant universities are still called
upon to provide instruction in traditional
production agriculture through research,
teaching, and extension activities.
However, it is also expected to provide
an ever-expanding breadth of programs
to an increasingly diverse population and
dynamic agricultural industry. As
demands for research and educational
opportunities change, it is important to
reexamine the historic foundation of the
land-grant university. Assessing the
need for services related to preparing
young people for careers in production
agriculture is one component of this
mission to consider.
This paper considers the need for the
University of Nebraska's Institute of
Agriculture and Natural Resources to
provide production agricultural
instruction and assistance through its
College of Agricultural Sciences and
Natural Resources (CASNR) and
Cooperative Extension Division.
Information on the number of students
considering farming/ranching careers,
the current challenges associated with
farming/ranching, educational
preparation, and beginning farmer
assistance was obtained through a 2004
survey of CASNR students. Specific
objectives are to:
1
• Assess young potential farmers'
general outlook towards farming
and ranching,
• Explore the educational needs of
potential beginning farmers in
areas of finance, management,
marketing, decision making, and
production, and
• Examine the areas of need that
prospective farmers have for
assistance when beginning
farming/ranching.