Last week I came across a story published by a Yahoo blogger titled ‘College Majors That Are Useless‘.  Before I even read the introduction my eyes couldn’t help but notice that the most useless degree as deemed by the author was agriculture.  Additionally, the agriculturally related degrees of Animals Science and Horticulture made the top five.  Although not surprised, I was extremely agitated.  Perhaps it was because all three of my degrees fall under the umbrella of agriculture.  What really struck a nerve was that this article showcased the ignorance of so many Americans (including the author) when it comes to understanding agriculture and food production.

The author really demonstrated his ignorance of agriculture by linking the “agriculture degree” (and I use that term loosely, because there are a wide range of degrees that fall under agriculture) to the career of farm or agricultural manager.  I don’t disagree with the U.S. Department of Labor statistics the author cites when stating that there will be a projected 5% decrease in these jobs over the next 5 to 6 years.  As we have made (and continue to make) scientific and technological improvements in agriculture we have become more efficient and thus, it is not surprising to see that the need for agricultural managers will drop.  However, this is not the only career in agriculture.  To name a few, a degree in agriculture can lead to a career in:

• agribusiness management (commodity trader, purchasing or financial manager, wholesale/retail buyer)
  

  Image created by agricultural photographer Erin Ehnle

• agricultural and natural resource management (environmental analyst, environmental chemist, water resource specialist, environmental planner)
• agricultural and environmental engineering (agricultural systems specialist, conservation engineer, agricultural safety and health program director, water resource engineer, waste specialist)
• agronomy (agriculture education teacher, crop consultant, soil scientist, extension agent, )
• animal science (research technician, marketing specialist, livestock agent, animal technician, veterinarian)
• park and recreation resources (park ranger, naturalist, environmental educator)
• horticulture (landscape designer, florist, nursery grower, greenhouse manager, plant pathologist, turf-grass specialist)
• forestry (forest ranger, arborist, naturalist)
• food science (food safety technician, food chemist, laboratory technician)
• fisheries and wildlife (habitat specialist, fish hatchery manager, land management specialist)
  Sources: Agriculture Council of America, Kansas State University, North Carolina State University, Illinois State University

The USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture at Purdue University has a page devoted to ‘Employment Opportunities for College Graduates in Food, Renewable Energy, and the Environment‘.  On their page they provide 20 agriculture related occupations and their projected growth between 2008 and 2018.  Some notable occupations include agricultural inspectors (12.8%), food scientists (16.3%), natural science managers (15.5%) and soil & plant scientists (15.5%).  Interestingly, the source of these statistics is the US Department of Labor (the same source used by the author of the poorly researched Yahoo story).

One thing to keep in mind is that as the world population continues to grow we are facing new (and old) food related problems.  Conventional agriculture systems that are heavily dependent on fossil fuels, synthetic fertilizers and pesticides and water resources are not sustainable.  We need sustainable food production methods that will allow us to keep up with population growth.  Additionally, food production is often not the source of global food shortages and issues.  Distribution inequities and misaligned domestic and global food policies have contributed to a growing undernourished population (now exceeding 1 billion people!).  We NEED individuals with some background and/or education in agriculture if we hope to address sustainability, hunger and other food related problems.  Looking at the possible careers, projected job growth in just a few of the agricultural related occupations, and future problems we are facing I think you can see that agriculture is a universal and extremely useful field to pursue.

The article struck a nerve through the agriculture community.  Allen Levine, the Dean of the College of Food and Agricultural and Natural Resource Sciences at my alma mater the University of Minnesota authored an article published in the Huffington Post (Yahoo’s ‘College Majors That Are Useless’…Really?) challenging the conclusions drawn and presented in the article.  AgDay, a syndicated news program focused on stories in agriculture and rural America covered the Yahoo article and response in a recent episode.  Additionally, on Facebook, a community of those individuals with degrees in agriculture came together on the page I Studied Agriculture & I Have A Job.  Over the last week person after person proclaimed on the page that degrees in agriculture are in fact quite useful and noted that they were employed.  Finally, other bloggers with backgrounds in agriculture like myself took to the internet to voice their reaction to the article (Is a Degree in Agriculture Useless? and Are College Degrees Surrounding Food and Animals and Plants Really “Useless”?). In the end, I think it is now quite clear that agriculture is indeed a useful major and noble career to pursue.