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
Associate Degree	1,167
Basic Certificate	1,039
Bachelor’s Degree	687
Undergraduate Certificate	436
Master’s Degree	144
Doctor’s Degree	26
Graduate Certificate	23

What Agricultural Production Majors Need to Know

In an O*NET survey, agricultural production majors were asked to rate what knowledge areas, skills, and abilities were important in their occupations. These answers were weighted on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being the most important.

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

The following list of skills has been highlighted as some of the most essential for careers related to agricultural production:

• 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

As you progress with your agricultural production degree, there are several abilities you should pick up that will help you in whatever related career you choose. These abilities include:

• 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?

Below is a list of occupations associated with agricultural production:

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 Bachelor’s Degree in Agricultural Production?

This is a less frequently chosen undergraduate major. Only 767 students graduated with a bachelor’s degree in agricultural production in 2021, making it rank #181 in popularity. This major is dominated by women with about 60% of recent graduates being 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	14
Black or African American	25
Hispanic or Latino	60
White	535
International Students	7
Other Races/Ethnicities	46

Geographic Diversity

Students from other countries are interested in Agricultural Production, too. About 1.0% of those with this major are international students.

Amount of Education Required for Careers Related to Agricultural Production

Some degrees associated with agricultural production may require an advanced degree, while others may not even require a bachelor’s in the field. 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.

Find out what the typical degree level is for agricultural production careers below.

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.