ASM: Agricultural Production Management

B.S. Agricultural Systems Management: Agricultural Production Management Option

   » College of Agricultural and Life Sciences


  • INTRODUCTION
  • WHAT IT TAKES
  • WHAT PEOPLE DO
  • GET INVOLVED
  • FACULTY
AG production

Develop a management plan for your agriculture operation. Calculate whether or not a new operation will be profitable. Determine the most effective irrigation systems to meet particular needs. Learn to assess what pesticides to use and how to apply them. Understand agricultural machines and how best to maintain them. Successfully manage labor. We teach the tools of precision agriculture, including Global Positioning Systems (GPS), sensors and geographic information systems (GIS).

Jobs in the industry are plentiful, but many of our graduates choose to return to the family farm — equipped with new knowledge and skills.


You’ll get extensive in-class and hands-on experience with equipment, machinery and computer technology. Experiment with tools and equipment in the shop practices lab. Learn about wire connections, switches and motors in the electric power lab. Shape and work metal in the welding lab. Understand fluids — from water pressure to turbine engines — in the power and machinery lab. Use state-of-the-art design software in the computing lab.

During your senior year, you will draw on everything you’ve learned when your team tackles a real-world project. You might develop a new mechanical method for clearing straw and dust from an engine, design a joy stick that controls a combine, or investigate setting up a small on-farm biodiesel manufacturing operation.


Students are encouraged to complete an internship the summer between their junior and senior year.


Prepare for Success

This major is a good fit if you can see yourself:

  • Taking a hands-on approach to solving problems.
  • Using your creativity to develop and test new ideas.
  • Communicating and managing people.

To prepare, you may want to:
  • Stay current with new machinery and technology.
  • Participate in 4-H activities, volunteer at a county fair or work for a farm.
  • Practice your leadership skills in student office.


Your First Year

Your first year, you will hone your communication skills with course work in writing and public speaking. You will also take an introduction to agricultural systems management and computer applications in biological systems.

More advanced courses cover topics such as farm and agribusiness management, agricultural machinery systems, electric power systems and engineering design.


AG production

What You Can Do

With this degree, you may become one of the following:

  • Systems designer: Study the production process and develop ways to integrate new technologies or systems that will improve efficiency and sustainability.
  • Production manager: Oversee production for a farm, ranch or agricultural business. Supervise and train employees; monitor equipment and systems.
  • Industry representative or technician: Work for an equipment manufacturer or a crop protection company. Match equipment to client needs. Test and repair equipment.
  • Safety supervisor: Teach employees how to use equipment to ensure their well-being. Develop precautions to prevent injuries.


Opportunities

Our graduates are highly sought by manufacturers, agribusiness firms and farm operations. Salaries start at $45,000.

You may also want to continue your education. Earn an advanced degree in agricultural economics, business or engineering.



Current Research

Do research. Make hands-on discoveries. Earn money working with faculty on grant-funded research projects like these:

  • Agrability Project: Explore ways to assist people with disabilities employed in production agriculture.
  • Biodiesel Education Grant: Take part in one of many alternative-fuels research projects.
  • Environmental Biotechnology Institute: Turn dairy manure into methane gas.


Activities

American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers: Join the ASM branch, meet business leaders and potential employers, and work with a senior design team to build a ¼-scale tractor for the International Student Design Competition.
Student Idaho Cattle Association: Learn about issues facing the beef cattle industry.
Collegiate Future Farmers of America (FFA) and 4-H: Attend local, state and national events.


Hands-On Experience

Intern. Get practical experiences like these:

  • Commercial farm: Help optimize crop and irrigation management.
  • Archer Daniels Midland: Operate a grain receiving facility.
  • Simplot Soil Builders: Collect soils data with portable data collection devices.

Study abroad. Deepen your understanding of your major — and the world — in countries like these:
  • India: Learn about 1,000-year-old farming practices on terraced hillsides.
  • Mexico: Evaluate how well absorbents clean biodiesel.
  • Taiwan: Reach speeds of 190 miles per hour on a bullet train.