03/12/2010

Ag Industry Day Puts Spotlights on Careers

AUBURN, Ala.—The Auburn University College of Agriculture is inviting high-school students from across the state to the campus Thursday, April 8, for an entertaining and enlightening look at careers in agriculture during Auburn’s first-ever Ag Industry Day.

The event, billed as a career fair for high-schoolers, will begin at 10 a.m. at Ag Heritage Park and the Ham Wilson Livestock Arena at Auburn and will feature a couple of special guest speakers, one a celebrity from the entertainment world and the other a top executive in international agriculture, who will share their perspectives on and experiences in the agriculture profession.

The first of those speakers, Randy Owen, is a Fort Payne cattleman who, though most widely known as the lead singer for the legendary band Alabama, also has a solid reputation as a producer of top-quality registered Hereford and Angus cattle on his ranch, Tennessee River Music. In his Ag Industry Day presentation, Owen will give an overview of his operation and stress that being a highly successful beef producer means being a top-notch businessman.

The other speaker will be Auburn alum Randall Ennis, who received his degree in poultry science in 1983 and today is chief executive officer of Huntsville-based Aviagen Broiler Breeding, the top poultry-breeding company in the world. Ennis will talk about his years at Auburn, why he chose the College of Ag, how he wound up majoring in the unlikely field of poultry science and how he rose to his current post. He also will offer advice to prospective students.

In addition to Owen and Ennis, representatives from the College of Ag’s eight departments and from agribusinesses such as Aviagen, Alabama Farmers Cooperatives, First South Farm Credit, Walt Disney World and the U.S Department of Agriculture’s Farm Service Agency will be on hand during Ag Industry Day to talk about career opportunities available through their academic programs and businesses. Plenty of food and fun will be provided as well.

Ag Industry Day is being held in conjunction with Auburn Ag Week. For more information, contact Deborah Solie at 334-844-8900 or das0002@auburn.edu, or go to http://www.ag.auburn.edu/goplaces/agindustry.

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Media contact: Katie Jackson, 334-844-5887 or smithcl@auburn.edu

OFFICE OF AG COMMUNICATIONS & MARKETING
Auburn University College of Agriculture
Alabama Agricultural Experiment Station
3 COMER HALL, AUBURN UNIVERSITY
AUBURN, AL 36849
334-844-4877 (PHONE) 334-844-5892 (FAX)
AgComm@auburn.edu