(RALEIGH) -- A U.S. Department of Agriculture official made a stop in North Carolina as part of a national effort to promote careers in agriculture to college students.  Deputy Agriculture Secretary Kathleen Merrigan brought the message to N.C. State University on Wednesday.

Merrigan said there will be lots of jobs to choose from. "Whether you are interested in international affairs, marketing, engineering, business, ag production, we've got every shape and size job and 50 percent of my employees are retirement eligible right now, so there's definitely opportunities there, even in this constrained budget environment," said Merrigan.

The ag careers campaign is part of the "Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food" initiative, an effort that is designed to promote local and regional food systems to spur economic development.  According to the USDA, demand for locally-grown food is expected to reach $4 billion to $7 billion by 2012.