AGRIBUSINESS
PROGRAM HAS STRONG YIELD IN FIRST YEAR It all seemed set in stone for Dalton Blaha. After high school graduation, Blaha would head for diesel mechanic school and in two years, be ready to embark on his career.
Midland has broadened my expansion of everything involving agriculture. I would like to be a technician for precision equipment, and the opportunities for that line of work exist in the area.”
Another opportunity soon presented itself, and Blaha began to realize that even the best laid plans can be altered. For Blaha, a Midland University freshman, the implementation of an Agribusiness program at Midland University set him on a new four-year journey. “I loved the thought of being a diesel mechanic, but then I started to question whether this was a 100 percent fit for me,” he said. “I couldn’t imagine myself doing this for the rest of my life, but it would be difficult for me to go in another direction. It got me looking at other options.”
Midland’s Agribusiness program was rolled out in the fall of 2021, and Blaha was the first of 15 students to declare it as their major. Nick Schreck, Director of Undergraduate Business, is excited to see that even though the program is in its growth stage, it is clearly gaining some early momentum. “We’ve got strong numbers and we’ve experienced great engagement from the agricultural community,” he said. “The goal now is to build off that and continue to foster business connections and get students in those businesses.”
As he began the process of taking another direction in his collegiate journey, Blaha began to realize the Agribusiness program would offer him a variety of career options. “It wasn’t an easy decision to give up diesel mechanic school,” he said. “I sat down with my parents and started weighing all the pros and cons. It would allow me to get a degree with a broad overview and would give me the opportunity to be a member of the shotgun sports team. My dad and I took a look at the curriculum, and it made me realize this would give me many different routes to find a job. In the two-year diesel program, it would have limited my knowledge to just fixing equipment. Coming to
As he began to research and identify what an Agribusiness program at Midland would look like, Schreck quickly identified that he could lean on area businesses, and ag industry leaders, as the program began to take shape. “We wouldn’t have been able to have this program without the support from local businesses,” he said. “I know people were excited to see Midland start an ag program. Midland is known for putting people in the workforce who will work hard and make a difference. Those businesses want talented people to stay in Nebraska and work for them.”
TO LEARN MOR E AB O U T TH E M IDL AN D U N IVER SI T Y AG R I B U SI N ESS P RO G RA M , V I SI T M I D L A N D U. E D U/AG R I B U S I NESS
