Promoting the Future of Agriculture in Young Minds

Interest in agriculture does not always translate into a clear pathway into the industry.

That question has surfaced through industry conversations before. In 2023, we considered why seasonal agricultural jobs could be difficult to fill even as young people expressed interest in food, sustainability and agriculture—and whether young people were being exposed to the range of careers available throughout the industry.

By 2025, the conversation had developed into a broader question: how do we connect younger generations interested in agriculture with the practical knowledge and experience that already exists within farming communities?

Bridging interest and experience

Agricultural education programs can introduce young people to the industry, but exposure does not necessarily provide the experience needed to understand commercial farming.

That gap can be particularly significant for young people who did not grow up around farms or agricultural communities.

Much of the practical knowledge involved in farming has historically moved between generations through families and direct experience. Understanding a crop, responding to conditions in the field and recognizing how decisions play out over a growing season are difficult lessons to gain from coursework alone.

At the same time, younger generations can bring new perspectives, technologies and ideas to the industry.

Connecting those perspectives with experienced growers creates an opportunity for knowledge to move in both directions.

Creating opportunities for knowledge to move between generations

Mentorship is one way those connections can happen.

Relationships between experienced growers and people entering agriculture can provide opportunities to share the knowledge built through years of working with particular crops and conditions while giving younger participants space to explore new approaches and technologies.

That exchange matters beyond preparing someone for a job.

The agricultural industry includes research, communications, marketing, technology, human resources and many other careers alongside production itself. Helping young people see those pathways—and giving them opportunities to experience how agriculture actually works—can broaden how they understand their place within the industry.

Keeping agricultural knowledge moving forward

The future of our industry depends not only on attracting another generation, but on creating opportunities for knowledge and experience to continue moving between people.

Experienced growers carry an understanding of crops, land and production developed over decades. Younger generations bring different experiences, questions and ideas.

Creating stronger connections between the two can help preserve valuable agricultural knowledge while giving new people a more practical foundation from which to contribute.

The question is therefore larger than how to make agriculture interesting to young people.

It is how the industry creates meaningful opportunities for them to participate, learn and eventually help carry that knowledge forward.