2021 AgCareers.com Career Guide (US)

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My Dream Job I Never Knew Existed
Unique Ag Careers & How to Find Them
When Ronda Hamm was a
university graduate, she never
expected to be using her Ph.D. in
entomology to work for a company in
agriculture.
“I work for Corteva Agriscience, and
I am our global academic relations
leader,” Hamm said. “That probably
doesn’t mean much to a lot of people,
but essentially, what it means is … I do
education and outreach for all ages.”
When she was young, Hamm’s
membership in the National FFA
Organization helped her grow an
interest in agriculture — she particularly
loved animals — but her career path
took an unexpected turn when an FFA
internship placed her in an entomology
lab.
“The entomology lab for me was
scary because I was not a fan of insects,
so I thought this was going to be the
longest summer of my life,” Hamm said.
“But it ended up being a fantastic, life-
changing experience for me.”
Hamm’s current work involves a
variety of duties, but she primarily
focuses on leading educational
symposiums for classrooms,
conferences and other agricultural
spaces around the globe. Because she
works with such a wide range of people,
Hamm likes to say she is a “K through
gray ” educator rather than K through 12.
“A lot of people are familiar with
what an agriculture teacher looks like,
and that’s somewhat similar to what I
do, but it’s different in the fact that I’m
representing a company when I go out,”
Hamm said.
Hamm added that although it is not a
requirement for the job, her entomology
doctorate often guides her lesson
plans due to the “behind the scenes”
importance of insects in agriculture.
“I’m an entomologist, so I talk about
insects a lot – why they’re important,
and why we should care,” Hamm said.
As a global educator, Hamm has
spoken to hundreds of agricultural
professionals in various careers,
including some unique ones that some
may not know much about. Because
Hamm describes her occupation as “my
dream job I never knew existed,” she
says young people need to recognize
the wide variety of job opportunities
in the industry by using tools like
and FFA’s AgExplorer.
. Here are just a few examples of
unique ag careers that are often hidden
from the public eye.
Logistics specialists
Logistics specialists are vitally
important to the global agriculture
industry. According to the World
Bank , agriculture is a crucial part of
international trade, and it can account
for as much as 25% of a country’s gross
domestic product. For this reason, every
major agricultural company around the
world employs logistics specialists to
ensure that people and products are
always going where they need to be.
“They are basically in charge of
planning how you get a product from
point A to point B and making sure it’s
done on time, you have enough supply
available, and that you do it within a
reasonable cost,” Hamm said. “All those
steps cost money, so how can you do it
efficiently?”
Like any industry, agriculture’s
success relies on a steady supply
chain — or, as National FFA calls it on
its website , a value chain .
Research is done, goals are established,
products are made and shipped, and
consumers buy as the process repeats.
Logistics specialists can focus on some
or all parts of the value chain depending
on their employers’ needs, but good
organizational skills are always a must.
An agricultural logistics specialist
typically needs a bachelor’s degree at
minimum, and many universities offer
degrees in logistics, supply chains and
related skillsets.
The mainstream image of a typical
ag worker is someone toiling away on a
farm, but the research and development
that occurs in the ag sector is a vital
part of keeping the industry thriving and
growing. As someone from an academic
background, Hamm says there is an
incredible variety of scientific ag careers
available to researchers from all kinds of
disciplines.
“There are so many different kinds of
scientists [in agriculture],” Hamm said.
“Just pick your favorite topic and add
‘-ology’ to it.” > > >
by Kyle Hampel, National FFA Organization
18 AGCAREERS.COM AG & FOOD CAREER GUIDE
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