Sustainable Food and Farming: Now What?

Sustainable Food and Farming… Now What?

Source : https://www.onetonline.org/link/details/45-2092.00

Source: https://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/11-9013.00

What is Sustainable Food and Farming?

The Sustainable Food and Farming major allows students who are interested in the practical, social, political and scientific issues of sustainable agriculture and food systems to seek a broad exposure to this discipline in the liberal arts tradition. Students can tailor their individual programs to prepare for careers in sustainable farming, policy, advocacy, community outreach and education in topics related to crop production, food access, and hunger issues, as well as many others. Graduates will be qualified to compete successfully for a wide array of emerging careers in the growing field of sustainable food systems.

Job Titles in this area:

CSA Coordinator

Farm Apprentice

Farm Educator

Farmers Market Manager

Food Access Coordinator

Garden Manager

Land Steward

Mushroom Farmer

Produce Inspector

Produce Manager

Urban Gardener

Vegetable Field Hand

Recent Job/Internship Placement Sites for Sustainable Food and Farming graduates (2023-2025)

Appalachian Mountain Club

CREO

The Farm Truck at Hein Farm

Green City Growers

Livingstone Mycology

Malerba's Farm

Mapleline Farm

Maranatha Farm

NY State Parks & Recreation

Peraner Landscaping

Riverland Farm LLC

Song Sparrow Farm

Star Island

Stem & Shell Floral Design

U.S. Dept of Agriculture

UMass Amherst

Utah Conservation Corps

Waltham Fields Comm. Farm

Job and Internship Sites for Sustainable Food and Farming majors on Handshake: 

Abundance Farm

Bardwell Farm

Boston Area Gleaners

Broadfork Permaculture

Community Involved in Sustaining Agriculture (CISA)

Commonwealth Corps

The Farm School

The Food Bank of Western Massachusetts

Green Rivers Farms

Gould Farm

Groundwork Lawrence

Just Roots Farm

Mass Dept of Agricultural Resources

Myers Produce

Natural Roots Farm Apprenticeship Program

New Entry Sustainable Farming Project

Nourse Farm

Nourishing the North Shore (NNS)

red gate farm

Siena Farms

Southwest Boston CDC

Trustees of Reservations

UMass CAFÉ/Extension

UMass Student Farm

UMass Hydrofarm

Unadilla Farm

USDA

Waltham Community Farm

Woven Roots Farm

Career Planning Resources & Websites

Career Exploration Tools                           https://www.umass.edu/careers/career-journey/self-discovery 

Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Outlook Handbook              www.bls.gov/ooh

Massachusetts Career Information System                                       http://masscis.intocareers.org 

(Click Mass Resident to login with “Amherst/01003”  Then click “Occupations” or “Assessments”)

O*NET Online                                                                                    https://www.onetonline.org/

Sustainable Food and Farming Job and Internship Search Resources       

UMass Amherst Specific Job Search Resources

Handshake                                                                                         https://umass.joinhandshake.com/

Stockbridge School of Agriculture Internship Sites                      https://www.umass.edu/stockbridge/internships

UMass Office of Undergraduate Research & Studies              https://www.umass.edu/ours/ 

Sustainable Food and Farming Jobs

Agricultural Positions in Massachusetts (Mass.gov)               https://massanf.taleo.net/careersection/ex/jobsearch.ftl

CISA (local)                                                      https://buylocalfood.org/classifieds/job-opportunities/       

Com Food Jobs (Tufts)                                       https://elist.tufts.edu/sympa/info/comfoodjobs

Eastern Mass CRAFT List                                      https://easternmasscraft.wordpress.com/resources/ 

Eco-Farm Jobs                                                                           http://eco-farm.org/jobs 

Good Food Jobs                                                                        http://goodfoodjobs.com/

Idealist.org                                                                                https://www.idealist.org/en 

Local and Regional Food Jobs in SE MA | SEMAP               https://semaponline.org/local-food-jobs/

List of Internships – ATTRA – Sustainable Agriculture              https://attra.ncat.org/internship-list/

New Entry Farmer Resources                                https://nesfp.org/about/employment-opportunities 

Sustainable Agriculture Jobs                            https://sustainableaged.org/resources/job-listings/ 

USA Jobs (for ALL Federal Govt Jobs)                                    www.usajobs.gov

Work Abroad    https://www.transitionsabroad.com/listings/work/shortterm/farm_jobs_agriculture.shtml

Professional Organizations         

Many websites for professional organizations have career information on them. You can use them to search for networking events, meet a mentor in your field of study, find current research, search for internships or jobs, and gain insight into what direction within the field you may wish to pursue. 

American Farm Bureau Federation                                      https://www.fb.org/

American Mushroom Institute                                              https://www.americanmushroom.org/

American Society for Horticultural Science                         https://ashs.org/

Massachusetts Food System Collaborative                         https://mafoodsystem.org/

Consultative Group on Int Ag Research (CGIAR)                https://www.cgiar.org/

EcoAgriculture Partners                                                          https://ecoagriculture.org/

Foodrise                                                                                     https://foodrise.org.uk/

Foodtank                                                                                   https://foodtank.com/

Institute for Agriculture & Trade Policy                               https://www.iatp.org/

National Young Farmers Coalition                                        https://www.youngfarmers.org/

Northeast Farmers of Color Land Trust                                https://nefoclandtrust.org/

Slow Food                                                                                  https://www.slowfood.com/

The Sustainable Restaurant Association (THESRA)            https://thesra.org/

What Do Employers Look For? (NACE 2025 Job Outlook for Students)

Top 10 Skills Employers Seek on a Candidate’s Resume:

Problem Solving, Teamwork, Written Communication, Taking Initiative, Strong Work Ethic, Technical Skills, Verbal Communication, Flexibility/Adaptability, Analytical/Quantitative, Detail-Oriented

Factors Considered by Employers When Screening Candidates:

Academic Major, Has completed an internship in the industry, Industry experience, Has demonstrated proficiency in competencies, Has completed an internship with the organization, Has held a leadership position, Has been involved in leadership/extracurricular activities, Has held part-time jobs in college to finance education, Has done volunteer work