Designing a farm resume for print and online

"Original author: Joe Parcell, Agricultural and Applied Economics" ; "In the past few decades, agriculture has experienced enormous change. The 2017 Census of Agriculture shows a decrease in the number of farms and a slight increase in average farm size. At the same time, the average age of all U.S. farm producers has continued to rise. As farmland transitions and operations grow and evolve, competition for rental acreage increases. Producers who want to rent land must promote themselves and their management abilities to differentiate themselves from the competition. In many cases, they must also educate landowners about agriculture. More farmland is now owned either by landowners who are multiple generations removed from the farm or by investors. These individuals often don't live near the farm operation, and they may lack on-farm experience of their own. Communication with a landowner is an important factor in gaining the right to farm the landowner's ground, and a farm resume is one tool you can use to introduce yourself to landowners. A farm resume is much like a resume for employment in that it highlights your qualifications to do a job. A farm resume can help tenants to creatively promote their skills, education and experiences. When a lease takes shape as a crop-share or flexible cash rent agreement, a landowner will likely have particular interest in the tenant's skills because the tenant's performance affects the landowner's income potential. This publication outlines ways for you to communicate your qualifications as a producer and a prospective tenant farmer. Sharing your story can be accomplished through distributing a traditional paper resume or using social media such as LinkedIn."--First page. ; Revised by: Karisha Devlin (Field Specialist, Agricultural Business and Policy Extension), Alice Roach (Senior Research Associate, Applied Social Sciences), Jill Moreland (Program Director, Agricultural and Applied Economics) ; New 5/99; Revised 8/20 ; Includes bibliographical references