**A new jobs outlook report shows interest in agricultural careers is increasing.

Erika Osmundson with AgCareers.com tells Brownfield job opportunities last year were about average with almost 60,000 postings on their site and 2017 is starting out strong.

She says crop production, precision agriculture, and food and beverage sectors are seeing the most opportunities for new hires.

Osmundson reports a 15% increase in job seekers, more than half with less than five years of experience.

**New technologies are helping poultry producers protect their flocks against high path avian flu.

Tony Wesner, with Indiana-based Rose Acre Farms says the innovations used in the company’s new cage-free houses helps them better control the environment thanks to better insulation and tighter frame that maximizes air efficiency.

He tells Brownfield the new design helps to keep diseases out, but ultimately it’s back to basics of biosecurity to prevent another bird flu outbreak.

The outbreak in 2015 cost the US egg and poultry industry nearly $390-million.

**General Mills says its sustainability goals, launched four years ago, started as a “business imperative” for the 150-year-old food company.

Vice president, Jerry Lynch says GMs’ continuous improvement measurement is applied to large commodity crops used in their products, like wheat, oats, corn and sugar beets.

30 to 50% of those major crop ingredients were from sustainable sources last year. The company’s goal is to source 100% of 10 priority ingredients by 2020.

 

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