Kaden Conkle, one of the first students to graduate from Kent State University at Tuscarawas with a Bachelor of Science in Agribusiness, is quickly finding success in her field.
Employed at TMK Bakersville in Newcomerstown, Conkle is gaining experience in a variety of agribusiness areas, including marketing. TMK Bakersville is an agribusiness that sells fertilizer, herbicides, chemicals, seed, baler twine, wrap and propane. With two certified agronomists on staff, they also do custom applications, in addition to soil and tissue sampling.
“My role here is small right now, but I am learning new tasks each day. I do tasks in accounting and marketing,” Conkle explained. “I have gotten to lead our booth at the First Farm Friday event in Coshocton at the beginning of August. I am also participating a great deal in the Holmes, Stark and Tuscarawas county fairs.”
Ohio’s agriculture industry contributes $93 billion to the state’s economic growth. In Tuscarawas County, agriculture is one of the largest industries, contributing $95 million annually to the county’s economy. Agriculture employs one in seven Ohioans in areas such as wholesaling, retailing, farm production, marketing and agribusiness.
Students who graduate from the agribusiness program at Kent State Tuscarawas are prepared for many agribusiness jobs including management, agricultural commodity merchandising, finance and lending, real estate management and investment, international trade, entrepreneurship, agricultural production, relationship and sales management, and food marketing and advertising.
The agribusiness program blends business and agriculture, with an emphasis on analytic and problem solving skills. Combining the decision-making framework of business and the technical aspects of modern agriculture and food systems, the agribusiness program focuses on plant, animal and soil sciences, along with marketing, sales and management techniques in production.
For more information about the Bachelor of Science in Agribusiness degree program, visit https://www.kent.edu/tusc/agribusiness.
Kent State Tuscarawas is located at 330 University Dr. N.E. in New Philadelphia.