Employment Opportunities And Needed Competencies In Off Farm Agricultural Occupations In Massachusetts

Author : Norman Glen Keesler
Publisher :
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 138 pages
Book Rating : 4.:/5 (111 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Download or read book Competencies Needed in Off-farm Agriculture Based on a Survey of Agricultural Industry in the Vale Area written by Norman Glen Keesler and published by . This book was released on 1968 with total page 138 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Agricultural education is emphasizing all phases of agriculture in an attempt to help provide sufficient numbers of trained employees for agricultural industry. This is reflected by areas of instruction encompassing production and off-farm agriculture. Students receive supervision in production and occupational experience at home and with local off-farm agricultural business firms. The purpose of this study was to determine a core of competencies and related information about which group instruction may be given. The purpose of such instruction is preparing a student for selecting and advancing in an agricultural occupation of his choice. Businesses were consulted in the geographical area of Vale, Nyssa, and Ontario, Oregon to determine the need for employees with an agricultural background. One-third of the firms were interviewed personally to determine general competencies looked for in agricultural employees. The study revealed that students with an agricultural background are in demand. Most off-farm agricultural occuptaions (now and future) are located with farm machinery, feed, seed, fertilizer and chemical and ornamental horticultural firms. This study revealed that 61.12 percent of all employees in the Vale area need an agricultural background. Training in vocational agriculture provides desirable background experience for employment in most firms, Farm work experience was rated as essential by a majority of the firms interviewed. Production agriculture should be the core program to provide basis for experiences needed to successfully enter and advance in an off-farm agricultural occupation. Close cooperation should be established with farm machinery, fertilizer and chemical firms as they provide the largest number of employment opportunities now and anticipated in the future. These firms also provide opportunity for cooperative work training experience during seasonal rush periods as do service stations and food stores. The competencies of most concern to employers interviewed, and around which instruction should be developed, were those involving human relations and salesmanship.