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Indiana Pork hosted students Wednesday at the Jasper County Fairgrounds from the Indiana Ag & Tech School to discuss career opportunities in the pork industry.
“They can work in feed nutrition. They can work in genetics,” says Chad Martin, Indiana Pork’s Director of Strategic Outreach. “If they have a mechanically inclined mind, there are maintenance crews… If they have an interest in policy, there’s a lot of opportunity in advocacy.”
Martin called the partnership with the Indiana Ag & Tech School a natural fit for collaboration with students who are interested in coming into the ag industry.
In partnership with the Indiana Soybean Alliance, Indiana Pork conducted a study with Indiana youth and young adults aged 13-18 to help combat labor shortages experienced at the production level.
“We found with the study that if we attract them and expose them younger, the 13- to 15-year-olds, that we have a chance to maybe capture their interest earlier on,” Martin explained. “Then to also provide them an avenue and maybe try to find coursework, opportunities, and work-based learning and internships while they are still in high school.”
Martin encouraged the students to find an internship or part-time job with a pork producer or company to expose them more to the industry. They heard the story of Indiana Pork board member Micah Render who started as a power washer before quickly rising the ranks into farm management.
“It’s our role at Indiana pork to shed light on those opportunities, maybe be a connector and help find those young people find a path to make those connections. Maybe it’s in their backyard and they didn’t even know that those opportunities existed for a rewarding and positive career in the industry.”
The Indiana Ag & Tech School offers hybrid and virtual learning options for 7th-12th graders. They now have over 400 students enrolled.