Did you know that the ag industry is one of the largest employers in the United States? Agriculture and its related industries provided 19.7 million full- and part-time jobs in 2020 — or 10.3 percent of total U.S. employment! So it shouldn’t surprise you to learn that agriculture isn’t just for those seeking careers on farms or ranches.
One of the programs I manage in my work at Bayer is Grow Ag Leaders, a Bayer Fund scholarship program, which awards more than $500,000 in scholarships to FFA members every year. The prospective majors of our 2022 scholarship recipients demonstrate some of the incredibly diverse college majors that feed into the field of agriculture: Animal Breeding and Genetics; Diesel Mechanics; Environmental Engineering; Marine Biology; Welding; Natural Resources Management; Landscape Architecture; Forest Management; Parks, Recreation & Tourism Studies; and many more.
One of our recent scholarship recipients perfectly illustrates how a love of farming can transform into a promising career off the farm. Sydney Hefty won our Grow Ag Leaders scholarship in 2021 and 2022. She is enrolled at Purdue University, seeking a Bachelor’s degree in agricultural economics with a minor in political science.
Sydney’s story begins with a cute little goat, named Little Lamb. Her parents say at the age of 3, Sydney spent many mornings in the barn bottle-feeding Little Lamb. Sydney also remembers helping to raise the family’s first set of potbelly pigs and sitting on the family’s pet miniature donkey while her dad finished chores. She loved rides in the tractor or combine with her grandpa or joining her grandma in the grain truck to the elevator (where she says the best popcorn and lollipops were served).
As Sydney grew up, this love of her agricultural roots continued as she prepared goats and pigs for competitions or perfected her muffin recipe for state and county fairs. Sydney joined National FFA in middle school, and she gained leadership skills through judging and participating in contests and becoming an officer each year.
“Agriculture is all around me and one of the centers of my life,” Sydney says. She loves the values, honesty, and work ethic of those in agriculture, as well as the connections within the industry. “I still hear my parents talk about their School of Agriculture experience at Purdue and the professors that taught them so much, or my grandpa talking about the partnerships he has with the local chemical or seed representatives.”
A quick look at Sydney’s resume and many accomplishments tells me that she will be successful in whatever career she chooses. She has won our Grow Ag Leaders scholarship twice for good reason, and last year, she was named the Top freshman in the College of Agriculture at Purdue.
One path Sydney is very much considering after graduation is applying to law school to become an ag policy lawyer. She understands the challenges facing agriculture and wants to use her own love of agriculture to advocate for farmers. “Not only would I continue to be in an industry I love, but it would allow me to pursue my passion for agricultural advocacy,” Sydney says.
Sydney is a shining example of the many people, in all sorts of jobs and career paths, who contribute to the daily process of putting food on our plates. Developing the next generation of ag leaders — whether they be lawyers or welders, financial specialists or drone technologists, data processors or engineers – is critical to ensure a workforce of the future to support farmers in their noble work of feeding, clothing and fueling a changing world.
