Agriculture Tech

Updated August 7th 9:00 AM

Job and career outlook

The major trend in Agtech is growth. No pun intended. The interest in sustainable agriculture is high but many obstacles including industrial farming could be roadblocks. The industry has a huge appetite and upward slope growth in hiring trends in data science, machine learning, drones, iot and sensors, are among the top growth areas. As one might suspect, cross disciplinary skills are in high demand. The trends highlighted in the charts below indicate a continued upward trend in the overall number of Agtech jobs in May, June and July.

Education and skills

The Agtech industry is rapidly evolving and crosses many disciplines. The technologies deployed are usually meant to improve different areas of agriculture, including but not limited to plant farming / crop production, livestock utilization, precise methods of farming, and resource management. Here are the key education and skills needed for a job in agriculture technology.

Depending on the role, any of the following education backgrounds are helpful in agricultural Engineering or Sciences, Computer Science, Data Science. A desire to continuously learn is valuable

An understanding of traditional farming methods and agricultural processes. Specific skills in data, tech, sensor technologies, data visualization, communication, automation and sustainability may all be crucial depending on the role.

Industry outlook and recent trends

Top markets for hiring include Texas, Oregon, Virginia and New York. Some of this is driven by state regulations, in particular New York State is very forward looking and the NYSERDA is driving investment dollars which drives job creation.