Relevant

Clinton, NC: AgCareers.com and AgrowKnowledge have recently published the Enrollment and Employment Outlook in Agriculture Report  The purpose of the report is to gauge the awareness, availability, and perceptions of graduates and careers within the agriculture, food, and natural resource sciences. The data in this report was collected in 2009 and looks back at trends as far back as 2003. Click here for a downloadable copy of the report.

Data is outlined in five sections, beginning with a look at enrollment in two‐year institutions that offer programs in agriculture, food and natural resources followed by a look at four year institutions with similar offerings. The third component examines employment opportunities, while the fourth section delves into salary expectations for graduates in the agriculture related sciences. The fifth and last component explores perceptions of careers in agriculture, food and natural resource sciences. Each section contains graphs with explanations of the key points.

Overall, the results of this report challenge us as an industry to utilize our rewarding, well compensated, strong standing and growing career opportunities to recruit more students into educational fields that will lead them to agricultural careers.

Vermont:  On Thursday, September 9, 2010, Vermont Cooperative Extension opens a three-month series on specialty food businesses sponsored locally by the Lancaster County Edible Ventures Kitchen. September's topic will be Starting Right in Specialty Foods. Join Brian Norder, Director of the Vermont Food Venture Center for an informative session on what it takes to start and grow a specialty food business. Brian has over a decade of experience assisting entrepreneurs in all phases of food-related business development.

On October 14,  the webinar will focus on the importance of branding and will feature specialty food business owners Judith Moore of the Charleston Cookie Company and Robin Rhea, Slather Sauce. The November 11 webinar will conclude this series with a look at Culinary Tourism, an emerging niche that combines agriculture, specialty food and tourism. This presentation will feature a panel of Extension specialists working on Culinary Tourism initiatives.

All webinars will air monthly on the second Thursday at 2:00pm (ET); 1:00pm (CT); 12:00pm (MT); 11:00am (PT).  No pre-registration is required and there is no fee to participate. About 10 minutes prior to the start time simply go the Adobe Connect Pro meeting room here. You will be presented with a login screen that has an "Enter as Guest" option. Enter your full name then click "Enter Room" to join the conference. You will be able to hear the audio directly from your computer's speakers.  For more information, contact Mary Peabody at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .