In fact, 30 percent of academic degree programs in the College of Agriculture do directly relate to production agriculture. Yet even production agriculture is not the same as "farming" was in the past.

Agriculture has changed considerably. Growers increasingly use electronic technologies in everything from precision irrigation of their crops to online marketing of their products. The economic forces affecting production have moved from the local to the global level, and many of our growers face stiff international competition.

Production agriculture is furthermore poised for significant breakthroughs in biotechnology, including environmentally friendly ways to improve production efficiency and lower costs without using manufactured chemicals. Production agriculture today is a highly technical business, and producers need to be educated in the biological sciences, business, and technology to meet its challenges.

Few of our students aspire to be farmers or ranchers, however. The majority of the college’s academic programs prepare students for other careers.

Consider some of today’s important issues: food security and food safety, human health, environmental degradation, global economic competition, families and children, education. Students in the College of Agriculture prepare for careers addressing each of these areas.

Degrees in microbiology, animal science, crop science, molecular biology and biochemistry, food science, and biological engineering prepare students for careers in biotechnology–understanding the processes of living organisms at the molecular and genetic levels and harnessing that knowledge to benefit human health, our food supply, and the environment. The same areas of study prepare students for careers in food safety and quality. Along with soil science and agricultural engineering, these majors are also pathways to careers in environmental science and natural resource management.

Ensuring global markets for our products will require professionals skilled in targeted product development, efficient production and distribution systems, and innovative marketing strategies. Degrees in food science, crop science, agricultural economics, consumer affairs, agricultural engineering, and other fields prepare students to help secure our future international competitiveness.

Fully 25 percent of our students study in the college’s School of Family and Consumer Sciences, seeking degrees in child development and family relations; nutrition; clothing, textiles, and design; consumer affairs; and dietetics. These degrees provide pathways to careers in child care and education, social work, human health, food service, and retail merchandizing, to name just a few.

Education degrees in agricultural education and family and consumer sciences education prepare students to teach at the high school level.

The College of Agriculture is known for its outstanding preveterinary science program, but how many know the College of Agriculture prepares students for medical school?

Students with an eye on medical school choose majors in microbiology, molecular biology and biochemistry, nutrition, and biological engineering, among others. One of our premed graduates, Steve Smith, now ensconced in a medical practice in Alaska, is this issue’s profiled alumnus (page 11).

I hope this gives you an idea of the broad and diverse career training available within the college. The next time you hear College of "Agriculture," don’t think of only "cows, plows, and sows," also think human health, waste management, food safety, genetic engineering, business, marketing, child development, fashion design, teaching, medicine, environmental protection,…