Great Bend Tribune
Published January 20, 2024
The drought monitor report as of January 16 shows continued slow improvement. There is less almost no extreme drought. A dramatic improvement from a year ago. The six to ten-day outlook (January 23 to 27) indicates a 60 to 70% chance of leaning to above normal temperatures and a 50 to 60% chance of leaning to above normal precipitation. The eight to fourteen-day outlook (January 25 to 31) indicates a 50 to 60% chance of leaning above normal for temperatures and a 33 to 40% chance of leaning above normal precipitation. A promising precipitation forecast.
Today, as we wait for the snow to melt with warmer temperatures next week, let’s discuss the employment outlook in agriculture and related careers. If you have paid attention to the monthly reports, unemployment nationwide and especially in Kansas is near historic lows and hovers in the three percent range. That’s great for people looking for work but remember that people no longer looking for work aren’t counted. And it typically means higher wages. It’s not so great for employers looking to hire. There are two primary problems for those looking to hire. First, there is a smaller pool of potential employees to draw from and more competition for them leading to having to offer higher salaries and better benefits in many cases. Secondly, the pool of qualified candidates is shrinking and qualified candidates command higher wages. Employers having to hire unqualified candidates have to devote more time and money to training. This is true across most sectors of the economy and is especially acute in agriculture and related industries. How can this issue be addressed?
- One problem in determining the need for on farm employment is that it isn’t part of employment statistics for various reasons. So, let’s tackle this first. The “data” here is anecdotal but based on or discussions with advisory board members and within the ag community, there is a severe shortage of farm labor. Whether it’s a feedlot or cow-calf operation or a crop production operation there is a lack of labor in general and skilled labor in particular. Part of this stems from the rural location and a lack of population. Part is due to a lack of individuals with a farm background who really have little idea or a stereotypical idea of what agriculture work is. Some tasks are quickly learned but some positions would benefit from a certificate or two-year degree. It will take a coordinated effort to help fill this gap.
- For ag businesses such as co-ops the need is also great as is the need for qualified hires. Here certificates and two-year degrees are very beneficial, whether in crop protection, agronomy, and ag business. And many will hire the correct candidate and work with them monetarily and work schedules to attend a college like Barton for the certificate or degree.
- Finally, there are other jobs related to ag that are experiencing worker shortages such as CDL drivers and a little known but excellent career as a scale technician. Jobs like this are one semester certificates from an institution like Barton with an almost 100% employment rate for willing individuals.