Your Major is What?

    What is your major? The one question everyone is expected to know when enrolled in a university; this question itself is not difficult to answer. The hardest question can be the one that typically follows, “What kind of job do you want to get with that?”. Being an agribusiness management major, I am asked this question quite frequently as it is a unique major that not many are familiar with. Many of times people just assume I plan to work on a farm when I graduate. This is an unfair and very untrue assumption, as only maybe two percent of those that graduate with an Agribusiness management (ABM) degree will go back to work on the family farm. There is so much more that goes into the agricultural world to get food on your table. Therefore, I decided to take this first post opportunity to do more research on exactly what is available to ABM majors and inform not only myself but others as well.

To begin with you need to understand agribusiness is a company or business that makes its profit off agriculture production. Therefore, the jobs of those entering this field is to manage the financials and make decisions on the production of a large scaled business. To continue, ABM is a career path that prepares students for positions in maintaining and sustaining the world’s natural and human resources. In addition, they practice skills for finances, economic development and techniques; both nationally and internationally. Through this they help manage the best options for food production along with fibers while regulating proper use of our natural resources. It is a major with many different sides and dynamics. You not only have an idea of how agricultural production works but along with this business and management skills are developed. Key components to having a job in this field include problem solving, analytical thinking, communication, and organization.

A few agribusiness companies include, Cargill, Monsanto, and Archer Daniels Midland. You can follow paths of from loan officer to agricultural economics. Also jobs as buying crops for these different companies. Then on the other end of the spectrum is a sales specialist for these businesses. There’s loan officers and credit analysts, as well. Hopefully now you see that there are various types of jobs in the agriculture world. Not every job is working outside on a farm everyday. 
-Abbie