Careers and Employment in Agriculture
According to an agricultural contribution study issued by AgriGrowth and released in 2020, agriculture and forestry contribute $37.1 billion to the Minnesota economy and provide more than 388,000 jobs. Ag covers a variety of careers paths and jobs and below is a listing of resources to help explore some of those opportunities. To see a that report, please click here. Additionally, click here to access a report that will allow you to see a breakdown of this information county by county in the state of MN.
Southern Agricultural Center of Excellence Career Exploration Videos
We have been working with Ag Food and Natural Resource organizations throughout the state on MN and they have helped us by providing short career exploration videos about various careers in agriculture. Learn about the variety of career options available in ag!
Ag Career Pathway Wheel Brochure
If you're not familiar with the 8 agricultural career pathways, we've produced a .pdf as a quick reference (available in English, Spanish, Hmong and Somali). Also included is a matrix showing the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities and the AFNR majors and programs offered. An interactive version of this can be found on our partner's site, AgCentric.
Ag Careers
This is a global talent management solution providing ag and food career searches.
Ag Explorer
National FFA and Discovery Education have joined forces to create a robust, comprehensive career resource to help you explore the broad range of careers within the industry of agriculture. Agriculture has a variety and abundance of careers that fit within nine exciting career focus areas. Careers may have you using advanced equipment, creating new hybrid seeds, raising animals, managing people or designing new products and packaging.
AgHires: Jobs-Talent-Culture
AgHires is a leader in recruiting and job advertising within the agriculture, agribusiness, food production, produce, food processing, and horticulture industries. We constantly analyze job seeker behavioral trends and align recruitment strategies to the current market.
Agriculture Career Pathways
The Agriculture, Food, & Natural Resources (AFNR) Career Cluster is focused on the management, development, and use of natural resources including plants, animals, food, energy, and environmental systems. This cluster is organized into eight career pathways.
Career One Stop
This is a universal career exploration, training and job site sponsored by the U.S. Departement of Labor. You will also find dozens of ag and natural resources related career videos on its YouTube site.
Minnesota Ag Careers Job Listings
This is a Minnesota State resource that breaks down careers, industries, pathways and majors within agriculture.
Minnesota Career Pathways
This a site for adult students to explore paths to future careers. This site will help guide you through the process and help you anticipate the challenges you may find along the way.
Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development
MN Employment and Economic Development is a resource for MN job seekers.
Minnesota Department of Natural Resources
The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources offers information on careers in forestry. Included at the bottom of this page are short videos showcasing careers in forestry.
Minnesota FFA Foundation
The Minnesota FFA Foundation has rolled out our "Career Connectors" panel discussions. These are virtual pre-recorded panel discussions featuring partners of the Minnesota FFA Foundation and cover the AFNR pathways.
Minnesota Job Market Tool
This is a Minnesota job resource that will allow one to dive into occupations, the level of education needed, the salary as well as the employment outlook.
Minnesota State CAREERwise
This Minnesota State website offers a number of helpful tools. One can take a short career interest survey, define your skills, watch career videos, prepare for apply for Minnesota State Colleges and Universities as well as exploring the job market and learning how to search and apply for jobs. This will take you directly to the AFNR page.
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
This is a high level occupational outlook handbook provided by our government. You'll be able to select your occupation by pay, by education level, on-the-job training and more.
Overall, there are a ton of resources available to you. If you are specifically wanting to find a career in ag and you are not finding what you are looking for, we'd be happy to help you. Please send an e-mail to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..