Marketing, merchandising, and sales positions will continue to be a primary market for new food and agricultural science college graduates. Fewer graduates will be hired to market goods and services to farmers and ranchers.  More will be involved in selling food, forestry, and horticultural products to consumers.  More will be involved with international marketing activities. More will utilize the latest electronic technologies in completing the marketing and technical service functions for their businesses. 

 Some 15,946 average annual openings are projected for marketing, merchandising, and sales representatives.  In contrast, an average of 14,650 qualified college graduates are expected each year during 2000-2005. 

 Food company account representatives, landscape horticulture service representatives, commodity brokers, forest products merchandisers, international market representatives, and advertising and public relations specialists are expected to have the strongest employment opportunities. 

 More than enough qualified graduates are expected to be available to sell feed, seed, fertilizer, agri-chemicals, farm machinery, and related products. 

 Successful individuals in marketing, merchandising, and sales positions must have very strong communication skills and excellent command of electronic information technologies which are regularly used in business transcations.  An increasing percentage of  food, agricultural, and natural resources sales and marketing positions are expected to be filled by graduates from programs other than those offered by colleges of agricultural sciences and forestry.  Business school graduates will compete very well.

In this employment cluster approximately 65% of graduates are coming from the agricultural, natural resources and veterinary medicine fields.  

In summary, many of these jobs will need to be filled by graduates trained in other employment cluster specializations.