What Does the Next Generation of the Pork Industry Want?
It’s easy to make assumptions about what others think, but recent research funded by the Indiana Pork Producers Association and the Indiana Soybean Alliance proves it’s always better to go to the source itself.
No one would argue that labor is a challenge in the pork industry today. To better understand this challenge, Indiana Pork hired a consulting firm in early 2023 to conduct qualitative research with decision makers and human resources staff from pork-producing entities of varying sizes and types in Indiana.
The research revealed the importance of reaching talent younger, building a positive reputation for working in the industry, and developing more effective programs to increase the talent pipeline. This discussion culminated in a recommendation that the industry conduct primary research to understand the interests of Indiana’s youth, where the agriculture industry fits into those interests, and how to best connect with them to foster industry understanding and interest.
What Do Youth Really Want?
Later in 2023, quantitative research helped gauge the needs and interests of Indiana youth and young adults aged 13 to 18 years old to better identify actions agriculture can take to engage youth through relevant programs and investments.
In a survey of 468 youth ages 13 to 18, Indiana Soybean Alliance and Indiana Pork discovered there is a growing interest among students of this age group to not pursue a post-secondary education. In short, a growing number of young people are interested in work-based learning and internships while in high school.
They also learned that youth aged 13 to 15 years old had more interest in exploring a career in agriculture, so reaching these youth earlier to show them career possibilities could be an untapped opportunity for our outreach efforts, explains Chad Martin, Director of Strategic Outreach for Indiana Pork.
“We are partnering with Ascend Indiana, to gather these actionable insights to design programmatic approaches to help attract young people to the industry for a fulfilling career,” Martin says. “Ascend has helped create talent pipelines for other industry sectors, including healthcare, information technology and manufacturing.”
Using content made available from the Destination Pork curriculum through the U.S. Pork Center for Excellence, Martin presented the Destination Pork curriculum at the Indiana Association of Agriculture Educators Winter Conference.
“This curriculum expands awareness of pork industry careers, pork production, environmental stewardship and other industry-related content,” Martin says. “We also have started being in classrooms with pork industry leaders like Micah Render of Belstra Milling and Dr. Amy Woods of AMVC Swine Health Services to share their pork industry involvement.”
As well, Indiana Pork connected with the Indiana Ag and Technical School, an accredited high school with the state of Indiana.
“Students learn through a hybrid schedule of both in-classroom and online learning, but also get involved with work-based learning experiences in Agriculture businesses and production operations,” Martin adds. “This school has been gaining exponential growth since the COVID pandemic and is a great fit for us to partner to attract production career seekers.”
Beyond Agriculture
Indiana Pork is expanding the awareness of programs available for the pork industry which are untapped, namely connecting with their local workforce development boards.
“There are several initiatives available to other industry sectors in which ag has not had a seat at the table. We want to be sure they are aware of the possibilities,” Martin says. “We plan to work on their behalf to showcase to young people what a career in the pork industry could involve day to day and help connect local youth to producers seeking to fill positions.”
In short, Indiana Pork wants to be a connector for pork producers struggling with labor shortages.
Keith Haarer with employee relations and development at Whiteshire Hamroc in Albion, Ind., says this isn’t an easy task.
“Our youth need to have positive experiences on the farm. This includes their time with the animals and the people. They must believe that working in agriculture is an important job in our society and that what they do each day matters,” Haarer says.
He hopes to continue to provide opportunities for people to actually get in the barns, meet the teams and see what it’s like working with pigs. He believes in job shadow experiences and exploring new ways to tell pork’s story.
Investment Required
Haarer admits it takes investment from pork operations, starting with the ability to increase wages and offer flexible work schedules.
The pork industry can’t “least-cost our way to good people,” says Rebecca Schroeder, president of Whiteshire Hamroc.
“We must find a way to pay more competitive wages and benefits as well as provide opportunities and resources for growth and development at the production/farm level,” Schroeder says.
Schroeder and her team have been taking advantage of the EARN Indiana program through the Indiana Chamber of Commerce which helps to cost-share internship positions.
The EARN program is unique, Haarer adds. Not only can companies post an internship listing on EARN’s searchable website, but if they find a student who is interested in interning on the farm, they can direct them to apply to the EARN Indiana program. If they qualify, the state will pay half of the intern’s wages for the internship through a reimbursement method.
It’s a win-win situation. The program helps connect students who are interested in agriculture with companies looking to hire.
“It gives the student an opportunity for a diverse range of experiences within agriculture, helping them to find the right fit for them personally. Also, due to the reimbursement program, it may help a company afford to bring on more interns than they normally would,” Haarer says.
Martin says Indiana Pork continues to explore additional programs that could help producers connect to potential employees.
“It is important for those of us in agriculture to continue to find ways expose the next generations to the beauty and honor of a life on the farm," Haarer says.
