Agricultural Production

Types of Degrees Agricultural Production Majors Are Getting

The following table lists how many agricultural production graduations there were for each degree level during the last year for which data was available.

Education Level	Number of Grads
Master’s Degree	144
Doctor’s Degree	26
Graduate Certificate	23

What Agricultural Production Majors Need to Know

People with careers related to agricultural production were asked what knowledge areas, skills, and abilities were important for their jobs. They weighted these areas on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being the highest.

Knowledge Areas for Agricultural Production Majors

Agricultural Production majors often go into careers in which the following knowledge areas are important:

• Biology - Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
• English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
• Administration and Management - Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
• Education and Training - Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
• Mathematics - Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.

Skills for Agricultural Production Majors

agricultural production majors are found most commonly in careers in which the following skills are important:

• Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
• Active Listening - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
• Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
• Judgment and Decision Making - Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
• Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.

Abilities for Agricultural Production Majors

A major in agricultural production will prepare for your careers in which the following abilities are important:

• Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
• Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
• Problem Sensitivity - The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing there is a problem.
• Deductive Reasoning - The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
• Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.

What Can You Do With a Agricultural Production Major?

People with a agricultural production degree often go into the following careers:

Job Title	Job Growth Rate	Median Salary
Agricultural Sciences Professors	7.9%	$84,640
Animal Breeders	2.2%	$37,060
Farm and Home Management Advisors	7.7%	$49,840
First-Line Supervisors of Agricultural Crop and Horticultural Workers	2.1%	$46,960
First-Line Supervisors of Animal Husbandry and Animal Care Workers	2.1%	$46,960
First-Line Supervisors of Aquacultural Workers	2.1%	$46,960
Food Scientists and Technologists	5.9%	$65,300
Forestry & Conservation Science Professors	4.5%	$86,900
Soil and Plant Scientists	9.0%	$63,950
Soil and Water Conservationists	6.3%	$61,310

Who Is Getting a Master’s Degree in Agricultural Production?

The major attracts more women than men. About 61% of the recent graduates in this field are female.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the countrywide level, the racial-ethnic distribution of agricultural production majors is as follows:

Race/Ethnicity	Number of Grads
Asian	2
Black or African American	5
Hispanic or Latino	20
White	88
International Students	23
Other Races/Ethnicities	6

Geographic Diversity

Americans aren’t the only ones with an interest in Agricultural Production. About 16.0% of those with this major are international students.

Amount of Education Required for Careers Related to Agricultural Production

Some careers associated with agricultural production require an advanced degree while some may not even require a bachelor’s. In general, the more advanced your degree the more career options will open up to you. However, there is significant time and money that needs to be invested into your education so weigh the pros and cons.

How much schooling do you really need to compete in today’s job market? People currently working in careers related to agricultural production have obtained the following education levels.

Education Level	Percentage of Workers
Less than a High School Diploma	1.4%
High School Diploma - or the equivalent (for example, GED)	16.0%
Post-Secondary Certificate - awarded for training completed after high school (for example, in agriculture or natural resources, computer services, personal or culinary services, engineering technologies, healthcare, construction trades, mechanic and repair technologies, or precision production)	7.4%
Some College Courses	4.4%
Associate’s Degree (or other 2-year degree)	5.9%
Bachelor’s Degree	28.6%
Post-Baccalaureate Certificate - awarded for completion of an organized program of study; designed for people who have completed a Baccalaureate degree but do not meet the requirements of academic degrees carrying the title of Master.	1.0%
Master’s Degree	11.0%
Post-Master’s Certificate - awarded for completion of an organized program of study; designed for people who have completed a Master’s degree but do not meet the requirements of academic degrees at the doctoral level.	0.7%
Doctoral Degree	17.1%
Post-Doctoral Training	7.0%

Online Agricultural Production Programs

The following table lists the number of programs by degree level, along with how many schools offered online courses in the field.

Degree Level	Colleges Offering Programs	Colleges Offering Online Classes
Certificate (Less Than 1 Year)	0	0
Certificate (1-2 years)	106	1
Certificate (2-4 Years)	5	0
Associate’s Degree	209	4
Bachelor’s Degree	15	3
Post-Baccalaureate	0	0
Master’s Degree	22	4
Post-Master’s	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Research)	9	0
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice)	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Other)	0	0

Majors Related to Agricultural Production

You may also be interested in one of the following majors related to agricultural production.

Major	Number of Grads
Animal Science	8,396
Veterinary/Animal Health Technologies/Technicians	8,257
Agricultural Economics & Business	8,085
Horticulture	3,932
Veterinary Medicine	3,555
Plant Sciences	3,307
General Agriculture	3,256
Food Science Technology	2,181
Agricultural Mechanization	1,402
Animal Services	1,217
Veterinary Biomedical and Clinical Sciences	954
Agricultural Public Services	866
Other Agriculture	700
Agriculture/Veterinary Preparatory Programs	486
Soil Sciences	439
International Agriculture	215
Food Processing	198
Veterinary Administrative Services	113

References

*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

• College Factual
• College Scorecard
• National Center for Education Statistics
• O*NET Online
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• Usual Weekly Earnings of Wage and Salary Workers First Quarter 2020
• Image Credit: By {} under License

More about our data sources and methodologies.