Minnesota Agriculture in the Classroom (MAITC) works towards helping K-12 students understand the world of possiblities that awaits in agriculture careers across the state of Minnesota. Ann Marie Ward, MAITC Foundation Executive Director and Ann Vote, Assistant Producer Farm Camp Minnesota Ag Careers Video partnered with Lakeland PBS. Together we connected with Minnesotans engaged with in various positions in the agriculture industry to capture their career paths, skill sets and the many reasons these individuals came to be a part of the diverse landscape of Minnesota agriculture.
About the Ag Career Videos
During a three-part Farm Camp experience, students experience in-class learning, hands-on farm or agribusiness tour and career exploration. Farm Camp has been working to expand their career exploration resources which lead to this opportunity.
The Ag Career Videos are titled, "Careers Beyond the Farm," and feature caeer paths in agriculture that defy stereotypical routes students and young people may normally consider. The videos help viewers understand that the agriculture industry is much more vast in it's variety than becoming a farmer.
The series features a 30 minute documentary and several career shorts to allow educators to tailor the footage to their students. Among those interviewed are engineers, maintenance personnel, processing technicians and many more.
When I think of a career in agriculture, I would just have thought of farming. I never associated that maybe an industry such as sugar making could actually be considered an ag industry [...] I would say there are tons of opportunities that get overlooked just because agriculture isn’t ‘just’ farming.
Clara Kaufmann, Process Engineer, American Crystal Company
What I look for is their [job applicant’s] willingness to learn not really their skills but their willingness to overcome challenges and how they might think through the challenges if they are presented with them.
Zachary Deshayis, Maintenance Manager, RDO/Lamb Weston
Watch the Videos
These interviews are the beginning of a multi-year partnership with Lakeland PBS (LPBS) to create web-short videos for classroom use, and professional development for educators to cultivate awareness of the many career opportunities in Minnesota Agriculture, helping today's students see themselves a part of agriculture in the future. In addition to these short videos being tied to Farm Camp Minnesota experiences and lessons, a program of MAITC, LPBS will air a 30-minute feature program with additional highlights and interviews to further engage communities, classrooms and individuals in learning about the people that work to provide food, fuel, fiber and natural resources for Minnesota and beyond. These production pieces have been published as of the end of June 2024.
