Now as some of you might know, I did not get a degree in Agriculture, or any of the top 5 most useless degrees that YAHOO! so inconsiderately listed (keep reading). I actually left my family’s farm with big dreams of being a big time lawyer, saving the innocent from the grips of injustice (think major Matlock obsession). But instead I took my non-ag, Business degree and ended up coming back anyway. I had friends who thought I had just wasted a lot of money to “just end up farming”, some who were shocked by my return, and some (thanks goodness my parents) who thought that a business degree for the farm was about the smartest thing I could have done! But what degree is best when farming? I think that this industry is so diverse, so complicated, and covers so many aspects of our economy, anyone from any degree should feel they can be useful to agriculture.
But obviously there are many advantages to getting an actual degree in Ag, and there are many that do just that. Whether it be the challenge of feeding millions and millions of people in the years to come, or the advancements in technology that bring them back, there is a lot to say about a growing industry and young people wanting to do their part. Hence the title, farming today truly is more than just plows and cows!!
Awhile ago Yahoo! receive plenty of flack from ag producers all over for claiming that Agriculture is a useless degree. Which is interesting because I have the inclination that who ever wrote that probably did it on a full stomach, and never once thought, “Hmm…I wonder where this food came from…maybe I should thank a farmer?!” They actually named Ag as the #1, Animal Science as #4 and Horticulture as #5. Well Yahoo! here is just another story that proves you are in fact incorrect in you assumptions.
Fox News recently did a short story that completely debunks the worthless degree claim and shows that Ag degrees are actually on the rise, and for very good reason! When you’re young and staring at a future world of 9 billion people, all with stomachs and mouths, it makes you realize that farming is going to become more and more important. Ag research will become more important, fertilizer and feed companies, agronomists, the list goes on and on with how far an agriculture degree can take you today and far into the future. In Oregon 1 in 8 jobs are tied to agriculture!!
You can watch the news report by clicking the link below and make your own assumptions…but as for Yahoo!, well I hope that no one actually believes what you say, because we need farmers, we need researchers, we need horticulturalists, animal science, vets…do I really have to keep going on and on??
Agriculture Degrees the HOT ticket for job growth?
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The black scab marks are what we look for, then you have to cut about 6 inches below the site to make sure that what has moved through the tree is also getting cut out.
This is the tower that we use to get up high in the trees. Our established orchard has very tall trees and most of the growth is at the top. That is also where the a lot of the blight starts, in the newer growth areas.
This is the usual crew I have going around to check on the what is being pruned, kind of a full house at times 🙂
NuttyGrass 