• Find a bachelor's degree




    Bachelors Degree Center is an advertising-supported site. Featured or trusted partner programs and all school search, finder, or match results are for schools that compensate us. This compensation does not influence our school rankings, resource guides, or other editorially-independent information published on this site.

Agribusi­ness and agri­cul­ture are two fields that can offer life­long rewards for those who choose to build a career in those areas. Agri­cul­ture and agribusi­ness involve much more than just farm­ing and rais­ing cat­tle. It involves research­ing sus­tain­able farm­ing meth­ods for food pro­duc­tion as well as man­ag­ing the busi­ness prac­tices that make it all work. Both online and on-cam­pus degree pro­grams in agri­cul­tur­al sci­ence, ani­mal sci­ence, and food sci­ence will allow stu­dents to learn what they need to know to effec­tive­ly man­age all sizes of agri­cul­tur­al prod­ucts and oper­a­tions. Many uni­ver­si­ties offer a hybrid approach in which a por­tion of the program’s class­es are held in the class­room and the oth­ers are offered over an online learn­ing platform.

What Is Agribusiness Management?

Agribusi­ness man­age­ment is much like man­ag­ing any oth­er form of busi­ness. It involves mon­i­tor­ing the day-to-day busi­ness prac­tices asso­ci­at­ed with a ranch, farm, or any oth­er type of agri­cul­ture oper­a­tion. Under­stand­ing what prac­tices work and how you can imple­ment them dur­ing the dai­ly oper­a­tions of the busi­ness is what agribusi­ness man­age­ment is all about. A degree in agribusi­ness man­age­ment offers agri­cul­ture grad­u­ates all of the skills they need to bring togeth­er both man­age­ment skills and the con­cepts and prac­tices asso­ci­at­ed with agriculture.

Relat­ed pro­grams include:

  • plant sci­ence
  • soil sci­ence
  • forestry
  • hor­ti­cul­ture
  • food safe­ty
  • nat­ur­al resources
  • crop sci­ence
  • land use
  • agri­cul­tur­al technology

Career oppor­tu­ni­ties include:

  • agri­cul­tur­al sales
  • crop pro­duc­tion
  • ranch­ers
  • food safe­ty
  • agron­o­mist
  • agri­cul­tur­al consultant

Agri­cul­ture pro­grams may offer spe­cial­iza­tions and tech­ni­cal skills that pro­vide job oppor­tu­ni­ties in the agri­cul­ture indus­try, the USDA, and pri­vate industry.

Good man­age­ment involves good lead­er­ship skills. In order to be an effec­tive leader, you need to under­stand the impor­tance of being a good lis­ten­er and learn­ing how to devel­op a plan of action that involves incor­po­rat­ing ideas from every team mem­ber. Man­ag­ing any type of busi­ness involves know­ing how to ful­ly max­i­mize every resource you have to its fullest poten­tial. This includes both mate­r­i­al resources as well as human resources.

What Is the Def­i­n­i­tion of Agribusiness?

The def­i­n­i­tion of agribusi­ness is any busi­ness prac­tice that is effec­tive­ly used to man­age a farm­ing or ranch­ing oper­a­tion. Agribusi­ness also includes the busi­ness of mar­ket­ing crops and pro­duce. Farm­ing and ranch­ing are mul­ti-bil­lion dol­lar indus­tries that must be man­aged prop­er­ly if the own­er plans to turn a prof­it each year. There are sev­er­al aspects of busi­ness that is involved in the field of agri­cul­ture. From research­ing new, sus­tain­able farm­ing meth­ods to mar­ket­ing cam­paigns that help pro­duc­ers buy the right prod­ucts to make sure that their oper­a­tion runs efficiently.

Degree pro­grams that pro­vide the man­age­ment skills that are need­ed to over­see the day-to-day oper­a­tions of an agri­cul­tur­al enter­prise, be it a ranch, farm, or oth­er types of facil­i­ty. Many of these degrees are offered online as well as in the class­room so that any­one who is inter­est­ed in earn­ing their degree can jump at the oppor­tu­ni­ty. Those who are already work­ing may choose an online learn­ing plat­form so that they can con­tin­ue to earn a pay­check while they are going to school. This is espe­cial­ly ben­e­fi­cial if they have a fam­i­ly to support.

The Importance of Accreditation

Accred­i­ta­tion is the bench­mark of a qual­i­ty degree. Schools and degree pro­grams that have earned accred­i­ta­tion sta­tus have met or exceed­ed the stan­dards of the indus­try they rep­re­sent. There are two types of accred­i­ta­tion, each one being impor­tant in its own way. Many employ­ers rely on the fact that a future employ­ee’s degree pro­gram was accred­it­ed and met indus­try stan­dards. Tak­ing a close look at a stu­den­t’s resume will help them find the answers.

Accred­i­ta­tion is not a one-time deal. The accred­it­ing board must approve each school or degree on a reg­u­lar basis. This involves thor­ough­ly eval­u­at­ing the school and its pro­grams to ensure that they meet the lat­est pos­si­ble stan­dards for their par­tic­u­lar indus­try. These stan­dards change from year to year. In order to main­tain their accred­i­ta­tion sta­tus, schools must be able to prove they can pro­vide the lat­est skills and infor­ma­tion required. The same holds true for degree programs.

What Is Spe­cial­ized Accreditation?

Spe­cial­ized accred­i­ta­tion is the process of eval­u­at­ing degree pro­grams to ensure they are as up-to-date and accu­rate as pos­si­ble. Accred­it­ed degree pro­grams have been thor­ough­ly researched by an accred­it­ing board that close­ly eval­u­ates the course mate­r­i­al that is being offered. Much like region­al accred­i­ta­tion, spe­cial­ized accred­i­ta­tions must be renewed on a reg­u­lar basis. Degree pro­grams can change from year to year. This means that they may require year­ly accred­i­ta­tion reviews to stay cur­rent with the accred­it­ing board­’s guidelines.

What Is Region­al Accreditation?

Region­al accred­i­ta­tion focus­es on the school itself, not the degree pro­gram. Just like spe­cial­ized accred­i­ta­tion eval­u­ates the qual­i­ty of the degree pro­gram and the information/skills it pro­vides to each stu­dent, region­al accred­i­ta­tion eval­u­ates the school’s resources, teach­ing meth­ods, fac­ul­ty mem­bers, as well as many oth­er aspects of the edu­ca­tion­al process. The accred­i­ta­tion board strives to ensure that stu­dents receive every advan­tage pos­si­ble as they pur­sue their education.

Region­al accred­i­ta­tion is award­ed to schools that meet or exceed the stan­dards put in place by the accred­it­ing board for aca­d­e­m­ic excel­lence as well as excep­tion­al teach­ing meth­ods. This is not a long-term award. Schools must be reviewed on a reg­u­lar basis to ensure that they are con­tin­u­al­ly exhibit­ing the high­est edu­ca­tion­al stan­dards at all times. In order for a school to main­tain its accred­i­ta­tion, it must pass each review successfully.

Types of Agriculture and Agribusiness Degrees

There are sev­er­al types of agri­cul­ture and agribusi­ness degree pro­grams stu­dents can enroll in, depend­ing on where they are at in their edu­ca­tion. Most degrees are offered online as well as in a class­room set­ting. This makes it eas­i­er for a stu­dent to pur­sue their edu­ca­tion­al goals. Many schools are offer­ing hybrid pro­grams that offer stu­dents the oppor­tu­ni­ty to use both types of learn­ing envi­ron­ments to their fullest advan­tage. This works well for stu­dents who want to be able to go to work before they com­plete their education.

Asso­ci­ate’s Degree

Asso­ci­ate’s degree pro­grams pro­vide the basic class­es stu­dents will need to begin their edu­ca­tion. These class­es lay the ground­work for the stu­den­t’s future edu­ca­tion, giv­ing them a sol­id foun­da­tion to build on. Most of the Math, Eng­lish, and oth­er gen­er­al­ized cours­es are includ­ed in your Asso­ci­ate’s degree, as well as many of the more basic core class­es you will need before mov­ing up to the next lev­el of your edu­ca­tion. An Asso­ci­ate’s degree will give you every­thing you need to begin your edu­ca­tion and take the first ten­ta­tive steps toward a lucra­tive career in agri­cul­ture or agribusiness.

Bach­e­lor’s Degree

Bach­e­lor’s degree pro­grams are the next step up after com­plet­ing your Asso­ci­ate’s degree. Enrolling in a Bach­e­lor’s degree pro­gram allows you to begin to learn about the core essen­tials that make up your degree pro­gram. You will begin to learn core con­cepts and tech­niques that ensure you have all of the nec­es­sary skills and knowl­edge to be a pro­fes­sion­al in your field. With a Bach­e­lor’s degree, you will be able to move up into mid-lev­el posi­tions and may actu­al­ly qual­i­fy for man­age­ment or super­vi­so­ry posi­tions if you include a few busi­ness cours­es in your degree pro­gram. Online degrees in agri­cul­ture at this lev­el are a great way to fur­ther your edu­ca­tion and your career.

Mas­ter’s Degree

Mas­ter’s degree pro­grams offer the most advanced course work for agri­cul­ture and agribusi­ness stu­dents who are ready to move up to the next lev­el of their career. With a Mas­ter’s degree, stu­dents are ready to take on the more lucra­tive, deci­sion-mak­ing posi­tions. They are ready to han­dle more respon­si­bil­i­ty and are capa­ble of han­dling more dif­fi­cult and com­plex sit­u­a­tions. Stu­dents can expect to earn high­er wages and receive advance­ment oppor­tu­ni­ties that may put into upper man­age­ment roles.

Doc­tor­ate Degree

A doc­tor­ate in agri­cul­ture or agribusi­ness is ide­al for the stu­dent who is inter­est­ed in con­tin­u­ing with research relat­ed to their cho­sen field of study or for a stu­dent who is inter­est­ed in teach­ing at any lev­el. Agri­cul­ture and agribusi­ness degree pro­grams are both diverse and very chal­leng­ing. Stu­dents who were raised around the indus­try can find many career options to choose from that will allow them to stay as hands-on as pos­si­ble after grad­u­a­tion. With a doc­tor­ate degree, grad­u­ates can advance to the high­est lev­els of man­age­ment and begin to work toward the type of career they will tru­ly enjoy.

Dual Degree Programs

Dual degree pro­grams are an ide­al way for stu­dents to gain the advan­tage and earn skills for both agribusi­ness and agri­cul­ture. By enrolling in both degree pro­grams, stu­dents receive the best that each has to offer. They can take their blend­ed degree pro­grams and uti­lize what they learned to sup­port their own busi­ness, or they can go to work for some­one else and assist them in reach­ing their goals when it comes to imple­ment­ing new tech­niques and con­cepts or sim­ply increas­ing their over­all prof­it mar­gin. Dual degree pro­grams not only give you the agri­cul­tur­al knowl­edge you need but also the man­age­r­i­al skills to over­see your oper­a­tion effectively.

Where Can I Get a Degree in Agriculture?

Most col­leges and uni­ver­si­ties offer some form of agri­cul­tur­al degree pro­grams. The type of degree you earn will pri­mar­i­ly be based on where you want to work and what type of agri­cul­ture you are inter­est­ed in. There are many dif­fer­ent avenues to choose from. When choos­ing where to go to earn your degree, you should first ask your­self where you want to be in five years and what type of work you hope to be doing at that time.

How to Find the Best Col­leges for Agri­cul­ture Degrees?

If you want to find the best col­leges for agri­cul­ture degree pro­grams, you need to look in areas where agri­cul­ture is promi­nent. Areas that are wide­ly known for their large agri­cul­tur­al busi­ness and pop­u­la­tion are most like­ly where you will find schools that are ded­i­cat­ed to this type of course­work. Stu­dents who choose to pur­sue a degree in agri­cul­ture or agribusi­ness can now learn from almost any loca­tion since many of the required cours­es are now avail­able through an online learn­ing plat­form. When look­ing for the best col­lege to earn an agri­cul­tur­al degree, you need to find the one that offers exact­ly what you are look­ing for in terms of con­tent, cost, and resources.

Earn­ing an Online Degree in Agriculture

With today’s advanced tech­nol­o­gy and the major­i­ty of stu­dents hold­ing full- or at least part-time jobs, many col­leges and uni­ver­si­ties are choos­ing to offer their agri­cul­ture and agribusi­ness degree pro­grams over an online plat­form. This allows max­i­mum con­ve­nience for stu­dents who need to sup­port their fam­i­lies or help their fam­i­lies work the farm. With online degrees, sched­ules are flex­i­ble and stu­dents can study when it is eas­i­est for them to learn. This is also a great option for stu­dents who have trou­ble con­cen­trat­ing in a class­room full of dis­trac­tions. Enrolling in an online degree pro­gram allows stu­dents the oppor­tu­ni­ty they need to ful­fill their edu­ca­tion and reach their goals.

Certifications and Licenses

Cer­ti­fi­ca­tions and licens­es are a great way to prove to employ­ers that a grad­u­ate has the qual­i­fi­ca­tions they need to be suc­cess­ful at their cho­sen posi­tion. Many states require cer­ti­fi­ca­tions or licens­es to be able to work in cer­tain posi­tions. Col­leges and uni­ver­si­ties some­times offer cer­tifi­cate pro­grams to help stu­dents pass their tests. Cer­ti­fi­ca­tion pro­grams are much short­er but pro­vide an abun­dance of infor­ma­tion that can sup­port a stu­den­t’s many years of expe­ri­ence. Cer­ti­fi­ca­tions can be earned online or on-cam­pus depend­ing on a stu­den­t’s preference.

Earn­ing an Online Agri­cul­ture Certificate

Online agri­cul­ture or agribusi­ness cer­tifi­cates pro­vide valu­able, up-to-date infor­ma­tion that a stu­dent can use to val­i­date the expe­ri­ence they have already earned. Online cer­ti­fi­ca­tions allow stu­dents to meet any spe­cial licens­ing require­ments the state asks for before per­form­ing cer­tain tasks. Online agri­cul­ture cer­ti­fi­ca­tions can last any­where from two or three months to a year. Dur­ing this time stu­dents are able to attend class­es online and com­plete their assign­ments in their free time.

Online agri­cul­ture cer­tifi­cate pro­grams are avail­able through a large num­ber of col­leges, uni­ver­si­ties, trade schools, and com­mu­ni­ty col­leges. These pro­grams are actu­al­ly short­er ver­sions of the more advanced degrees. Stu­dents can get a con­densed ver­sion of what they need to know through a cer­ti­fi­ca­tion that can be com­plet­ed in a much short­er peri­od of time. Many cer­ti­fi­ca­tion pro­grams are designed to meet the con­tin­u­ing edu­ca­tion require­ments that are need­ed to main­tain state licensing.

Careers in Agriculture and Agribusiness

Agribusi­ness careers will often require that the stu­dent also pos­sess lead­er­ship skills. When it comes to the busi­ness side of agri­cul­ture, becom­ing an agribusi­ness lender who works pri­mar­i­ly with large farms and agri­cul­tur­al oper­a­tions can be a very lucra­tive career. Agribusi­ness lec­tur­ers and edu­ca­tors are also in high demand, espe­cial­ly when it comes to teach­ing more advanced, sus­tain­able farm­ing meth­ods to farm and ranch owners.

Careers in agri­cul­ture run the gamut from the field to the lab­o­ra­to­ry. Agri­cul­tur­al engi­neer­ing and design help with build­ing more effi­cient farm equip­ment. Food sci­en­tists are con­stant­ly work­ing to devel­op safer ways to process and store fresh fruits and veg­eta­bles. Zool­o­gists and ani­mal hus­bandry pro­fes­sion­als work with ani­mals. They study genet­ics and work to improve the blood­lines of cat­tle and oth­er farm ani­mals. Farm man­agers also fall into this cat­e­go­ry and are extreme­ly impor­tant when it comes to main­tain­ing all sizes of farm­ing operations.

Career Path­ways in Agriculture

Career path­ways in agri­cul­ture often start with groups like FFA (Future Farm­ers of Amer­i­ca) and 4‑H. Work­ing the land and rais­ing cat­tle are the only things many stu­dents real­ly know. Life on the farm means long hours and a lot of hard work. These are often the begin­ning steps on many agri­cul­tur­al career path­ways. Those who choose to enroll in online agri­cul­tur­al and agribusi­ness degree pro­grams can use their expe­ri­ence as a youth to build a sol­id career plan. Stu­dents who have spent years on the farm already have an abun­dance of expe­ri­ence they can build on as they fur­ther their education.

Career path­ways in agri­cul­ture and agribusi­ness can take any direc­tion a stu­dent choos­es. All they have to do is put in the time and effort to earn the right degree pro­gram. Stu­dents who are in line to man­age a large fam­i­ly farm­ing oper­a­tion may choose to enroll in a dual degree pro­gram. Hav­ing a degree in both agribusi­ness and agri­cul­ture can offer a stu­dent the chance to earn the man­age­ment skills they need to suc­ceed. They will know both sides of the farm­ing equa­tion rang­ing from the func­tion­al to the financial.

What Can I Do With an Agri­cul­ture Degree?

Degrees in agri­cul­ture allow you to fol­low many dif­fer­ent career paths. Many of the obvi­ous career path­ways includ­ing farm­ing, ranch­ing, deal­ing with crops/cattle, and many oth­er aspects of a mid-size to larget farm­ing oper­a­tion. Agri­cul­ture degrees also go hand in hand with many envi­ron­men­tal careers as well. Waste­water man­age­ment, envi­ron­men­tal engi­neer, agri­cul­tur­al engi­neer, and water resource spe­cial­ist are also con­sid­ered to fall into the agri­cul­tur­al cat­e­go­ry. Pur­chas­ing agents and buy­ers of prod­ucts and oth­er crops also require an in-depth knowl­edge of both agri­cul­ture and agribusiness.

These career paths can be found in both the pub­lic and pri­vate sec­tors and can be very lucra­tive depend­ing on where you are locat­ed and who you are work­ing with. Stu­dents who already have a strong back­ground when it comes to agri­cul­ture can find the degree pro­grams they need to help them advance to high­er-pay­ing posi­tions with more responsibility.

Salary for Various Agriculture/Agribusiness Careers

The salary for many agri­cul­ture posi­tions can range from mid $50,000 to close to $100,000. In fact, well-trained water resource spe­cial­ists can earn as much as $130,000 if they have the right edu­ca­tion and a few years of sol­id expe­ri­ence. Envi­ron­men­tal engi­neers and farm man­agers can make close to $90,000 per year, even more, if they have an agribusi­ness degree. Stu­dents can also explore many dif­fer­ent avenues that will result in salaries that top out at $75,000 or more if they have a sol­id edu­ca­tion to back them up.

When it comes to the salary options for agribusi­ness grad­u­ates, most career salaries can range from $50,000 to $90,000. These salaries can dra­mat­i­cal­ly increase as the per­son con­tin­ues to gain the expe­ri­ence they will need to take on more respon­si­bil­i­ty and move for­ward in their careers. Ana­lysts can make approx­i­mate­ly $85,000, while con­sul­tants and under­writ­ers fall just short of that at $81,000 and $83,000 respec­tive­ly. Agribusi­ness man­agers can make as much as $75,000 with the right edu­ca­tion and amount of expe­ri­ence. Indi­vid­u­als with dual degrees can expect to boost their earn­ing poten­tial depend­ing on the career path they choose.

Professional Organizations in Agriculture

Pro­fes­sion­al orga­ni­za­tions offer resources and sup­port to farm­ers and agri­cul­ture and agribusi­ness pro­fes­sion­als across the globe. Orga­ni­za­tions like these allow mem­bers to share ideas and bring about pos­i­tive change when it comes to pro­tect­ing our farm­land and the rest of the environment.

Inter­na­tion­al Food and Agribusi­ness Man­age­ment Association

The Inter­na­tion­al Food and Agribusi­ness Man­age­ment Asso­ci­a­tion is ded­i­cat­ed to help­ing agribusi­ness and food man­age­ment pro­fes­sion­als across the world come togeth­er to solve many of the issues the world of agri­cul­ture is fac­ing. They work togeth­er to find solu­tions to com­plex dilem­mas that are fac­ing the world on a glob­al lev­el when it comes to agri­cul­ture and the busi­ness aspect of the field.

Food and Agri­cul­ture Organization

The Food and Agri­cul­ture Orga­ni­za­tion is a group of pro­fes­sion­als in the agri­cul­ture and agribusi­ness sec­tors that help indi­vid­u­als share con­cepts and meth­ods that lead to more sus­tain­able farm­ing prac­tices. The orga­ni­za­tion strives to help pro­fes­sion­als with­in the indus­try learn about the lat­est prac­tices and pro­to­cols with­in their cho­sen career field. Mem­bers of the orga­ni­za­tion work togeth­er to ensure that they have every­thing they need to be successful.

Amer­i­can Farm Bureau Federation

The Amer­i­can Farm Bureau Fed­er­a­tion is one of the most well-known agriculture/agribusiness orga­ni­za­tions in the world. Local Farm Bureau co-oper­a­tives offer insur­ance pro­grams and oth­er ben­e­fits to their mem­bers. The orga­ni­za­tion is one of many that is geared toward help­ing farm­ers main­tain a pro­duc­tive and thriv­ing business.

North Amer­i­can Agri­cul­tur­al Mar­ket­ing Officials

North Amer­i­can Agri­cul­tur­al Mar­ket­ing Offi­cials is an orga­ni­za­tion that focus­es on help­ing Amer­i­can farm­ers and oth­er agri­cul­tur­al pro­fes­sion­als mar­ket their busi­ness and con­tin­ue to remain as prof­itable as pos­si­ble. The orga­ni­za­tion offers a vari­ety of mar­ket­ing meth­ods that are designed to assist farm­ers in reach­ing their goals. The mar­ket­ing con­cepts that are pro­mot­ed enhance both the agri­cul­ture and agribusi­ness sides of the field giv­ing both an advantage.

Relat­ed Rankings:

25 Best Bach­e­lor’s in Agri­cul­ture and Agribusiness

15 Best Online Bach­e­lor’s in Agri­cul­ture and Agribusiness

10 Fastest Online Bach­e­lor’s in Agri­cul­ture and Agribusiness

10 Most Afford­able Bach­e­lor’s in Agri­cul­ture and Agribusiness