Soybeans? Jobs? Just read the label!

GrowNextGen recently partnered with Cargill at the Career Exploration Academy held in Sydney, Ohio. This event, presented by the Workforce Partnership of Shelby County, allowed over 900 students to learn about careers in different area businesses. Partnership member Cargill was one of more than 20 companies presenting. Cargill representatives Andrea Flowers and Lydia Baker shared about food science and agriculture-related careers.

The middle and high school students said they didn’t think they’d ever eaten a soybean. GrowNextGen educators Jane Hunt and Dustin Homan then passed out food packaging and had students check the ingredients: nearly 90% of packaged foods include some type of soy ingredients.

Students were also challenged to relate ag careers such as communications, food science, packaging and manufacturing to the food they’d been given and to Cargill, whose area plant separates soybeans into hulls, meal and oil. 

GrowNextGen’s site has lots of great ag career information. Check it out for yourself, and share it with your class!