More Iowa youth are staying in the state thanks to agriculture according to a survey of Iowa FFA members conducted by the Coalition to Support Iowa’s Farmers. Of the 350 respondents, 99 percent said they have a positive outlook on the future of agriculture in Iowa and 90 percent want to live in Iowa in the future.

Local youth from Clay County and surrounding areas agree with the survey looking into future careers in different areas of agriculture in Iowa. Seventy-eight percent of respondents to the survey said they are planning to attain at least a four-year degree.

Nile Skogerboe, 19, of Spirit Lake, Casey Jones, 21, of Spirit Lake, and Ben Huntley, 20, of Estherville, are interning with The Andersons Inc., in both Everly and Superior, while majoring in different ag-related fields at Iowa State University and South Dakota State University.

“I am hoping to get a job back home after college. I am thinking of becoming a farm loan manager at a local bank,” Skogerboe, who is majoring in agriculture business at SDSU, said. “I got into agriculture because one of my buddies lived on a farm and I would help him out with it quite a bit. My grandparents also farm in South Dakota.”

“I want to get a job in agronomy sales here locally after I complete school, because I would like to come back to help with the family farm as well,” Jones, who is majoring in agriculture business and minoring in agronomy at ISU, said. “I want to do the farming on the side while working a full-time agronomy sales position. I really like getting out into the fields and talking with farmers.”

“I am hoping to become an ag teacher, or if not that, I want to go into ag sales,” Huntley, who is majoring in agriculture education and minoring in ag business at SDSU, said. “I want to come back to Iowa because I also want to help out with my family’s farm. We have 800 acres of corn and soybeans and we raise 200 head of black angus cattle.”

He added, “Being in FFA is the reason I want to be an ag teacher because my ag teacher helped me a lot and I want to do that for other students.”

Locally, Clay Central-Everly FFA Chapter President Katrina McCarty, 17, of Hartley, and CC-E FFA Chapter Vice President Dayton Brugman, 16, of Peterson, also plan on attaining a four-year degree in an ag-related field of study.