A future in ag for suburban teens?

Making an annual fall trip to a pumpkin farm to enjoy spooky barns and haunted hayrides is about as close as most suburban kids get to an agrarian experience.

And considering any kind of career in agriculture? That's something that simply would not seem to cross the minds of teenagers whose hometown environment is characterized more by malls and movie theaters than livestock and amber waves of grain.

But maybe they should. As a Daily Herald report on Monday noted, opportunities in agricultural careers abound, and some suburban students are beginning to take note.

In fact, a study done by the Illinois Leadership Council for Agriculture Education found that about two-thirds of the state's high school students enrolled in agriculture classes last year live in either a city or suburb.

This unexpected interest on the part of suburban and city young people is a positive development because many agricultural jobs are being created -- more than can filled by the dwindling number of young people who grow up on family farms.

For the most part, the new agricultural careers do not lie in traditional farming activities such as growing crops or raising livestock. Rather, many job opportunities lie in such fields as landscape design; plant sales and management for greenhouses and big-box stores; horticulture; and food safety and sustainability. In other words, jobs that can be done by folks who want to work and live in the suburbs.

State legislators created the Leadership Council for Agriculture Education about 20 years ago in response to farm leaders' observation that academic training would be needed to make sure that this state, with its vital agriculture sector, would have a reliable source of well-trained workers. Last year, the group hired a person specifically assigned to encourage suburban and city schools to develop agricultural courses.

Some area schools already offer such courses. Hampshire High School, set in more rural environment than most suburban schools, offers classes in agricultural mechanics and horticulture science. Waubonsie Valley High School in Aurora offers a three-year horticulture sequence, with internship.

A future in agriculture certainly will not appeal to all suburban teens. But some suburban students undoubtedly have interests and aptitudes that would make them ideal candidates for these professions. And young people drawn to these kinds of jobs should be encouraged by the job forecast.

One South suburban landscape manager said: "The need is just phenomenal. There are so few people that seem to be tuned into this profession …. If there are good people out there, they are not going to be looking long."

Reason enough for more suburban schools to consider adding agricultural classes to their course menus.