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2023 Agricultural Production Degree Guide

Are you interested in both the labor and management side of agriculture? Agricultural Production gives you the ability to have a hand in all aspects of farming operations.

A degree in agricultural production Operations will prepare you to be both a manager and a laborer. You will study operating systems, quality management, product design, supply chain management, and inventory control along with how to operate equipment and manage facilities and information. Some of your courses will cover accounting, human resources management, marketing, and business planning to prepare you to act as an operations manager. You will learn how to evaluate problems and risks and alleviate those in order to build a strong business.

This is a broad topic and, although it is possible to major in general Agricultural Production, often a school will offer different specialties that a student may concentrate on. Possible concentrations include Animal/Livestock Husbandry and Production, Aquaculture, Crop Production, Dairy Husbandry and Production, Horse Husbandry/Equine Science and Management, Agroecology and Sustainable Agriculture, and Viticulture and Enology.

Agricultural Production Degrees Decreasing

#190 Most Popular Major
3.1k Degrees Awarded
-17.7% Increase in Graduates

In 2020-2021, agricultural production was the 190th most popular major nationwide with 3,066 degrees awarded. This represents a 17.7% reduction in agricultural production degrees awarded over the prior year's total of 3,610.

Our 2023 Best Agricultural Production Schools ranking analyzes 54 of these schools to determine the best overall colleges for agricultural production students. Continue reading to check out one of our many unbiased rankings of agricultural production programs later in this article.

2023 Best Colleges for Agricultural Production
2023 Overall Best Agricultural Production Colleges >

Best Agricultural Production Schools by Degree

Associate Degrees in Agricultural Production
Bachelor's Degrees in Agricultural Production
Master's Degrees in Agricultural Production
Doctorate Degrees in Agricultural Production

Requirements for Getting a Degree in Agricultural Production

As an Agricultural Production manager, you must understand all aspects of the farm, determine how to best raise crops or livestock, purchase supplies, maintain facilities, and keep financial, production, and employee records. This career requires a solid understanding of business and strong communication and customer service skills. You must be able to communication effectively with laborers and workers as well as customers. If you choose to work with livestock, you must have a background in animal science. Multi-tasking is also a required skill because you must be able to split your time between outdoor labor and office tasks.

Since this career requires work all over the farm, hours can be long. During planting and harvesting seasons, work days last from sun up to sun down. Other times of the year, days are spent maintaining the farm and repairing equipment. Work on livestock farms is consistent since the animals constantly need caring for. As a manager or supervisor, you will be expected to work long days to ensure everything on the farm is running smoothly.

Agricultural Production Operations managers typically gain experience working on a farm before rising to a management position. It is recommended that you gain experience through a summer job, internship, Co-op or work abroad program before pursuing a management position.

Agricultural Production Degree Program Entry Requirements

A high school diploma or equivalent is typically required for most agricultural production degree programs and many students will need a minimum GPA and SAT/ACT score depending on the school. In addition to these basic agricultural production program qualifications, to serve in some agricultural production careers, special certification may be required outside of your degree.

Agricultural Production Degree Types

There are various different levels of agricultural production degrees. You can spend many years getting as high as a in agricultural production to something that takes less time like a . The type of agricultural production degree you choose will determine how long it takes to get your diploma.

Degree Credit Requirements Typical Program Length
Associate Degree 60-70 credits 2 years
Bachelor’s Degree 120 credits 4 years
Master’s Degree 50-70 credits 1-3 years
Doctorate Program required coursework including thesis or dissertation At least 4 years

A bachelor's degree is the most common level of education achieved by those in careers related to agricultural production, with approximately 30.4% of workers getting one. People currently working in careers related to agricultural production tend obtained the following education levels.

Level of Education Percentage of Workers
Bachelor’s Degree 28.6%
Doctoral Degree 17.1%
High School Diploma 16.0%
Master’s Degree 11.0%
Post-Secondary Certificate 7.4%

62.0% of agricultural production workers have at least a bachelor's. View the chart below to get an idea of what degree level most of those in agricultural production careers have.

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The education level required is different depending on the agricultural production career you are seeking.

Career Opportunities for A Degree In Agricultural Production Graduate

Average Number of Jobs
$31.4k Average Starting Salary
-0% Decline Job Outlook 2016-26

Studying Agricultural Production will prepare you to manage and oversee all types of farming operations. Some people will choose to be self-employed and run their own farm while others work as managers or supervisors. Due to the ability of farms to increase output with fewer workers, this career is moderately declining and is expected to continue this trend, possibly making it difficult to find jobs.

Steady Demand Projected for Agricultural Production Careers

Want a job when you graduate with your agricultural production degree?

The following options are some of the most in-demand careers related to agricultural production.

Occupation Name Projected Jobs Expected Growth
Farmers, Ranchers, and Agricultural Managers 1,020,700 -0.8%
Farming, Fishing, and Forestry Worker Supervisors 49,700 2.1%
Conservation Scientists 23,700 6.3%
Soil and Plant Scientists 21,700 9.0%
Food Scientists and Technologists 18,000 5.9%

Agricultural Production Degree Salary Potential

Agricultural Production graduates between 2017-2019 reported earning an average of $31,367 in the 2019-2020 timeframe. Earnings can range from as low as $18,863 to as high as $51,496. As you might expect, salaries for agricultural production graduates vary depending on the level of education that was acquired.

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High Paying Careers for Agricultural Production Majors

Salaries for agricultural production graduates can vary widely by the occupation you choose as well. The following table shows the top highest paying careers agricultural production grads often go into.

Occupation Name Median Average Salary
Forestry & Conservation Science Professors $92,550
Agricultural Sciences Professors $90,890
Farmers, Ranchers, and Agricultural Managers $79,940
Food Scientists and Technologists $72,570
Soil and Plant Scientists $70,630

Getting Your Agricultural Production Degree

With over 573 different agricultural production degree programs to choose from, finding the best fit for you can be a challenge. Fortunately you have come to the right place. We have analyzed all of these schools to come up with hundreds of unbiased agricultural production school rankings to help you with this.

Agricultural Production is one of 16 different types of Agriculture & Agriculture Operations programs to choose from.

Agricultural Production Focus Areas

Major Annual Graduates
Animal/Livestock Husbandry & Production 878
Agricultural Production Operations 605
Agroecology & Sustainable Agriculture 552
Horse Husbandry/Equine Science & Management 436
Crop Production 350

View All Agricultural Production Focus Areas >

Majors Similar to Agricultural Production

Related Major Annual Graduates
Veterinary/Animal Health Technologies/Technicians 8,646
Animal Science 8,294
Agricultural Economics & Business 8,098
General Agriculture 3,370
Horticulture 3,234

View All Agricultural Production Related Majors >

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