CHUALAR, CALIF.- One industry that could see is a boost is agriculture. This year farmers made a big profit, despite the economy.
The local Agricultural Industry is using this bit of news to entice young people to make a career in this business.
"I just love being outside and I get to see all different varieties of different crops everyday. It's always something new," said Chico State Junior Matt Donangelo.
Donangelo is part of the next crop of Agriculture students at Chico State University.
He interns for Gowan Seed Company in Chualar and calls the experience he gets from the internship invaluable.
"I'm out in the field planting different varieties. When they harvest the fields, we go back and evaluate our crops and see what varieties grew best," said Donangelo.
The Monterey County Farm Bureau is seeing a spike in the number of young people interested in agriculture.
"They're going to places like Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, and other colleges, and really taking to hear some of the agricultural opportunities that are there," said Farm Bureau Executive Director Norm Groot.
Some of the new enthusiasm could be credited to a very profitable year for crops here on the Central Coast.
Groot said one of the reasons there's so much growth in the AG industry is the fast growing need for food safety workers.
"It's really a segment within agriculture that's really going to offer some opportunities for young people," said Groot.
And the new interest couldn't come at a better time.
"The farmers are aging. They're getting older every year. But, we are now seeing there's a younger generation, graduating from colleges, that are really taking an interest in production agriculture," said Groot.
The Monterey County Farm Bureau offers a program called Young Farmers and Ranchers.
It's for anyone new to the farming who would like help networking or finding local jobs in the industry.
Here's a link to their site for more information:
http://www.montereycountyfarmbureau.org/
by Briana Bermensolo
