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March 16, 2001

National Ag Day • March, 2000

Promoting the Future of Agriculture in America's Classrooms

When Norma Aldinger heads to work at Caterpillar Agricultural Products in DeKalb, Ill., she's very much aware of her agricultural background and the advantage it gives her as she begins her career with the company.

"An agricultural background helps me relate to the customer," she explains. "I'm familiar with farming practices and I have a good understanding of why a farmer is in the business."

Her familiarity with farming earned her a spot in Caterpillar's marketing representative program, a 2½ year training regimen that grooms future managers for a marketing career with the company. Aldinger has been with Caterpillar for nine months now, and she capitalized on her experience working on her parents' Iowa farm to chart a career path that has her looking forward to work each day.

Aldinger's story is not unusual in agriculture today. The nation's farms and rural communities are fertile ground for the next generation of leaders in agribusiness. This year during National Agriculture Week, March 18-24, educators and students across the U.S. will discuss the challenging and rewarding careers available in agriculture.

It takes millions of people to deliver agricultural products from the farm to their eventual end use, says the Ag Council of America (ACA), which organizes National Agriculture Week and Ag Day.

By educating students, part of the goal of the program is to keep those familiar with agriculture involved in agriculture even if they aren't farming themselves.

Debra Clay, marketing recruiting and development manager for Caterpillar, Inc., understands the value of an agricultural background as well.

She recruits employees for all Caterpillar divisions, but when she's in search of employees for its agricultural division, an agricultural background is one attribute she seeks out.

"We recruit at roughly 15 schools, primarily in the Midwest, and the people we're looking for are those with a passion for that business," Clay emphasizes. "Typically they have studied agricultural economics, agricultural engineering or agricultural business, and often they have a tie to the farm."

Caterpillar sees agriculture as a long-term proposition and it is a high-growth area within the company, Clay says. As a result, says Margaret Patterson, senior marketing consultant with Caterpillar Ag Products, the company gets behind efforts to promote agricultural literacy in the schools to show today's students the tremendous opportunities in agriculture and to encourage them to think about careers in agriculture when they leave school.

The ACA, a non-profit organization composed of leaders in the agricultural, food and fiber community, dedicates its efforts to increasing agricultural literacy. It relies on agriculturally based companies, such as Caterpillar, to provide the legs for its efforts by supplying both time and resources.

One such program where ACA and agribusiness work together is "America's Largest Classroom on Agriculture." Now in its third year, this program occurs during National Agriculture week, in celebration of National Ag Day, March 20, and it teaches students about agriculture's role in their future. Over the past two years, more than 1.3 million students participated in this project.

According to the ACA, the program owes its success to its appeal among educators and students and its ability to engage other agricultural literacy groups such as Agriculture in the Classroom; Project Food, Land & People; 4-H; and the National FFA Organization.

Lori Timberlake Porter, public relations manager for Caterpillar Ag Products, says Cat supplies both people and dollars to assist with ag literacy projects. "We sponsor a technology scholarship program with FFA, our people volunteer to go into classrooms and speak through the Agriculture in the Classroom program, and we're working with the Illinois Agricultural Association Foundation to fund the publication of a magazine that provides information on various aspects of agriculture."

The magazine is targeted to an elementary school audience, and it is supplied through numerous state Farm Bureaus for their Ag in the Classroom programs. In addition, the Caterpillar-sponsored issue, which focuses on technology, will be distributed through dealerships in North America and, potentially, Australia.

Porter says the goal of its efforts and that of the ACA is to get agriculture incorporated into core subjects at an early age. Doing so shows students the possibilities agriculture holds and the overall importance of agriculture in our lives (e.g., understanding where food comes from, and issues related to agriculture such as renewable fuels).

For Aldinger, agriculture was always a part of her life, but her activities as a youth in organizations such as 4-H encouraged her to pursue a career in agriculture. National Ag Day and Ag Week efforts supplement the work of groups such as 4-H and encourage the next generation of rural America to consider agriculture as a career.

For additional information about National Ag Day, please contact the ACA at (913) 491-1895, or visit the official National Ag Day Web site, www.agday.org.

Charting a Career in Agriculture

Step into the Caterpillar Agricultural Products facility in DeKalb, Ill., and it's likely you'll meet Norma Aldinger.

Aldinger, who grew up on a small, Jamaica, Iowa, corn and soybean farm with a farrow-to-finish hog operation, is putting her agricultural background to work through a career in the industry.

"Right now my primary responsibility is in the visitor center," she explains. "About 3,000 people (mainly potential customers) tour the tractor facility in DeKalb, Ill., each year." Her role is to speak with visitors about Caterpillar's history in agriculture and its commitment to the ag industry.

DeKalb is one stop for her during a 30-month training program designed for future management prospects at Caterpillar. During this period she'll travel to numerous facilities, learning about all aspects of the company's business. Eventually, she'll be trained for a career as a liaison between Caterpillar and its dealership network.

Debra Clay, a recruiter for Caterpillar, says people like Aldinger are essential because their agricultural background helps the company better relate to its farming and ranching customers.

"The customer in agriculture is much different from a rental or construction customer," Aldinger explains. "The agricultural customer is relationship based and may not be as aware of the benefits of Caterpillar's products."

A graduate of Iowa State University, Aldinger studied agricultural business, which was good for her because it was, "very general, which left my options open."

To others looking at a career in agriculture off the farm, Aldinger recommends they get exposure to different parts of the industry through internships. "I spent one summer as a crop scout and two summers with American Cyanamid. The internships helped me find out what I wanted to do, and what I was best at."

What's most important to Aldinger, she stresses, is that she is able to stay connected to agriculture even as she moves forward in the corporate world. "I don't want to lose my ties to the farm. This is a way I can retain that connection."