In recent years, more and more people are longing to get away from the world of office politics in order to find meaningful work in the agricultural sector.
But is this career path really right for you? Much will depend on your passion for the job: Fortunately, a genuine interest in working on a farm will almost always serve you in good stead if you want to develop a career in agriculture.
As you might guess, today’s best Agri Talent will have to have a good number of critical skills at their disposal: Here are just a few of the most important qualities that you’ll need to really take your agriculture work to new heights.
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A Strong Work Ethic
It should come as no surprise that a strong work ethic can seriously come in handy in the agriculture industry. The good news is that agricultural work will enable you to see the benefits of your labor firsthand. This is not office work by any stretch of the imagination: The work may get boring at times; however, you always know that your work will benefit society. There is nothing quite like the feeling of knowing that your work truly helps others.
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A Love of the Land
For many people who work in the agriculture industry, a passion for working the land is paramount. If you love nature and working in harmony with the natural world, you’ll probably feel uplifted by the pursuit of an agricultural career.
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Strong Cooperation Skills
On a farm, timing is everything; by extension, cooperation is vitally important in agricultural work: Unless everyone on a farm works towards a common goal, it is difficult to achieve very much. Fortunately, people who value teamwork can really make a success of an agricultural career. This is definitely a sector of the workforce that prizes healthy cooperation.
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A Growth Mindset
It is true that agricultural work can be frustrating at times. During some years, a farm will produce enormous production levels and profits; other years will be more of a struggle. It is at these latter times that a growth mindset will be central to your ability to bounce back from disappointment. If you can learn from mistakes and keep moving forward despite extensive challenges, you’ll probably make a great agricultural worker.
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Long-Term Planning Skills
Of course, agricultural work is mainly focused on long-term rewards. It is with good reason that agricultural labor has held a privileged position in human history for thousands of years: Agricultural work is central to the experience of civilization. It is a tradition that has been passed down from the dawn of human culture.
By extension, agricultural labor is a form of work that prizes long-term thinking over short-term profits. To really excel at agricultural work, you’ll need to take a long view on the benefits of your labor. Investment firms or Fortune 500 companies may think almost exclusively in terms of this quarter’s profits; conversely, an agricultural specialist is often thinking ten or twenty or even a hundred years down the road. If you can think big, you’ll have what it takes to succeed in agricultural work.
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Personal Humility
Agricultural work has much to teach us about personal humility. Because we are working closely with the earth and with the seasons, we are working with forces well beyond ourselves.
When a drought or an excessively rainy season can mar a year’s work, for example, it is difficult to remain arrogant about one’s place in the universe. We need to be humble when working a farm: However, that experience of humility can teach us much about life and can even be an education in itself.
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Resilience
When working on a farm, disappointments will arise from time to time. But each new year brings new possibilities and new things to learn. To really succeed in the agriculture industry, we need to therefore be resilient: Taking the good with the bad will show us that nearly every situation can be improved with hard work and a great attitude.
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Handiness
If you’re passionate about agricultural work, you’ll know that you’ll be using your hands quite a lot! Working with your hands can be truly enjoyable and meaningful. But if you’re not prepared to get your hands dirty, you might have a tricky time working on a farm. If you love working with plants, animals, and soil, however, this might just be a career for you
About the Author:
Eric Reyes is a passionate thought leader having been featured in 50 distinguished online and offline
platforms. His passion and knowledge in Finance and Business made him a sought after contributor
providing valuable insights to his readers. You can find him reading a book and discussing current events
in his spare time.
