There's a startling lack of young people planning to work in the agriculture industry, according to a new survey funded by Arden Hills-based Land O'Lakes Inc. Only 3 percent of college grads surveyed and 9 percent of millennials (born between 1982 and 2000) said they had thought about an ag career or would consider it.

The highest career interest from those surveyed came in health care and technology, each at 21 percent, followed by education at 20 percent and several professions – marketing and sales, finance, manufacturing and engineering - all at 12 percent. Only 6 percent of those surveyed said they were interested in agricultural professions.

"People still think you have to wear boots and overalls to work in ag," said Lydia Botham, executive director of the Land O'Lakes Foundation. Most don't realize that modern agriculture has become a technologically advanced field with a wide spectrum of careers, she said, "from seed geneticists and soil conservationists to supply chain analysts and economists."

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has estimated that more than 20,000 agriculture jobs go unfilled each year. The shortage of talent entering the industry has become a growing concern for food companies, agricultural groups and universities, Botham said. Yet the industry offers many career opportunities with good salaries that will continue to increase, she said, as the world's expanding population and growing middle classes ramp up the demand for food.

The online survey, conducted by ORC International, polled a demographically representative sample of 1,020 U.S. adults between Feb. 8 and 10.