Agribusiness Workforce Skills Study

AGRIBUSINESS WORKFORCE SKILLS STUDY

About the study

The Agribusiness Workforce Skills Study builds on the foundational research by Litzenberg & Schneider (1987) to explore how the skill and knowledge expectations of agribusiness employers have evolved. This updated research identifies the competencies most valued by employers in the agriculture, food and agribusiness sectors when hiring recent college graduates majoring in agribusiness.

Aligning education with industry needs

The goal of this study is to ensure a stronger alignment between higher education and industry needs by:

Helping graduates land jobs that match their skillsets
Informing curriculum development with real-world expectations
Encouraging collaboration among faculty across North America
Using evidence-based approaches to guide education and career readiness

Survey content

To capture a comprehensive view of the current landscape, three targeted surveys were deployed across the United States — one for recruiters and agribusiness professionals involved in hiring, one for faculty and academic leaders shaping curriculum, and one for agribusiness students and recent graduates.

Each survey asked respondents to evaluate the importance of a wide range of competencies, grouped into key categories:

Business and Economics
Computer, Quantitative and Management Information Systems (MIS)
Technical Skills
Communication
Personal Characteristics
Work Experience
General Higher Education Experience

Who participated

1,001 industry professionals
177 students and alumni
81 faculty and administrators

Key findings

Most valued skills

Across all audiences, Personal Characteristics and Communication skills emerged as top priorities. However, industry respondents consistently rated these skills slightly lower than faculty and students – indicating a slight gap in perception between educators and employers.

Personal Characteristics ranked as the highest competency across all respondents, reinforcing the importance of traits like integrity, motivation and the ability to work independently or in teams.
Communication Skills followed closely, with every sector emphasizing clear writing, effective speaking and active listening.
Business and Technical Knowledge scored moderately.
Computer/MIS Skills and Work Experience were consistently rated lower, suggesting these are seen as trainable post-hire.

Skill priorities by agribusiness sector

The importance of skills and competencies varied by sector, highlighting nuanced priorities.

Priorities by Sector

Industry professionals in the financial services sector placed the highest value on personal characteristics (8.0) and the lowest on technical and computer skills.
Food processing employers showed the strongest preference for technical knowledge.
Industry professionals in food retail placed higher emphasis on both business knowledge and prior experiences like internships or leadership roles.
There were few differences by sector among student respondents.
Industry rated everything on a lower scale than faculty and students.

Research team and partners

We partnered with AgCareers.com and the National Agri-Marketing Association (NAMA) to collect data and launch the survey. Our team of faculty and researchers included:

Dr. Aaron J. Johnson, Associate Professor, Kansas State University
Dr. Scott Downey, Director and Professor, Center for Food and Agricultural Business, Purdue University
Dr. Rodney Holcomb, Professor, Oklahoma State University
Masie Keshavarz, Senior Research Project Manager, Center for Food and Agricultural Business, Purdue University

Collaborate & Learn more

Interested in how these insights could support your talent strategy or curriculum? Contact us to learn more or explore custom research partnerships.