Agriculture graduates can look forward to more job opportunities in the upcoming years, according to a report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

The report predicts 5 percent more graduates in agriculture and related fields will be needed during the next five years.

It is expected there will be 54,400 jobs within the next five years for those graduating with a bachelor’s degree, or higher, in renewable sources and environmental specialties.

However, there is only an expected average of 29,300 graduates in national colleges of agriculture and life sciences. Many companies are hiring to meet demands and searching through related fields to find workers.

“Nationally, there is not an overabundance of students coming into agriculture, so the supply and demand are in the student’s court,” said Mike Gaul, career service director for the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.

The increase in demand comes from a variety of areas.

The biggest is due to retirements from the baby boomer generation, but there is also an increased need for people in other areas due to new concerns in the public: consumer demand for nutritious food, energy and environment issues, global trends in populations, income and food consumption.

The strongest demand, according to the news release, is for graduates who have studied science, technical engineering and mathematical areas in agriculture and environmental science. Employers are looking for people who have stronger interest and work experience in one of those particular areas.

Caleb Lundberg, president of the Agriculture Communicators of Tomorrow and senior in agriculture, wasn’t surprised by the increase in jobs.

“There are so many jobs out there related to agriculture that aren’t just farming and raising livestock,” he said. “The expansion of technology in agriculture right now is creating more jobs.”

He said agricultural jobs aren’t affected by market trends because they are in an independent market.

An increase is expected in the number of students enrolling in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences in fall 2010. The number enrolled exceeded 3,000 for the first time in three years in fall 2009.