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Opportunities in Agricultural Career
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The agriculture field has great potential. Most opportunities in the agriculture career lies in the food processing industry. Whenever we think about corn, what comes to mind is somewhat edible such as soft corn on the cob, sweet sodas and salt corn chips. However, very few of us know about the use of corn in postage stamps, and also for aspirin also called as imitation silk. These products are manufactured using corn byproducts.
One of the leading agricultural products processing company, Archer Daniels Midland processes wheat, soybeans, and corn into food products like flour, emulsifiers, sweeteners, wood preservatives as well as industrial starches and ethanol.
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Another food processing company, Bunge is mostly involved in the processing of oilseeds. It turns them into products such as livestock meal, bio fuels and mayonnaise. However, Cargill produces extremely different agricultural products including vitamins, soy waxes, flavoring agents, pharmaceutical coatings, and dairy as well as meat products.
In the last few years, demand for biofuel has increased which is good news for the corn producers like Archer Daniels Midland. Ethanol is a substitute for gas and is also environment friendly. Basically, ethanol is an alcohol based fuel produced from fermenting corn, beets, wheat, or any other sugar-bearing feedstock. Ethanol when mixed with gasoline creates E85 (15 percent gasoline, 85 percent ethanol). Using ethanol, it is possible to reduce the U.S. reliance on foreign oil products. It boosts the production of corn in the country.
| Biodiesel is another biofuel which is in demand these days. It is manufactured from vegetable oils, artery-clogging grease, animal fat, and leftover as well. In its purest form, biodiesel discharges very little carbon dioxide when compared to petroleum diesel. Biodiesel is an option for diesel, and machines that run on diesel also run on biodiesel without any change to the engine. As biodiesel is becoming popular, it increases the demand for soybeans.
Though soybean is used for the production of biodiesel, it has taken a backstep of late mainly because the use of trans fats in food products is prohibited in America. In order to increase its shelf life, soybean undergoes a hydrogenation process which produces the trans fats. Trans fats are harmful for the body as they clog arteries, and also raises cholesterol levels. Thus producers of fast food restaurants and junk food are reducing trans fats in their food products. Farmers are also encouraged to produce soybean which contain low linolenic acid, which eradicates the need of the hydrogenation process.
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