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Agricultural Business Operations

Types of Degrees Agricultural Business Operations Majors Are Earning

Students pursuing Agricultural Business Operations have the option of earning degrees at several award levels.

Award Level	Graduates
Certificate	110
Associate’s Degree	908
Bachelor’s Degree	2,149
Master’s Degree	406

What Agricultural Business Operations Majors Need to Know

Programs in Agricultural Business Operations emphasize a specific mix of knowledge, skills, and abilities — derived from O*NET surveys of workers in occupations that Agricultural Business Operations graduates commonly enter.

Knowledge Areas

According to O*NET, a major in Agricultural Business Operations emphasizes the following knowledge areas:

• Biology — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 5.0 / 7.
• Administration and Management — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.2 / 7.
• Education and Training — Importance 3.8 / 5; level 5.2 / 7.
• English Language — Importance 3.7 / 5; level 4.5 / 7.
• Food Production — Importance 3.5 / 5; level 3.9 / 7.

^{Importance is rated 1–5; level is 1–7. Source: ONET Online — weighted across related occupations.*}

Skills

The skill set emphasized by a Agricultural Business Operations program reflects the day-to-day work of related occupations:

• Reading Comprehension — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.7 / 7.
• Active Listening — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.4 / 7.
• Critical Thinking — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.1 / 7.
• Speaking — Importance 3.9 / 5; level 4.6 / 7.
• Instructing — Importance 3.8 / 5; level 4.1 / 7.

Abilities

Innate abilities most relevant to Agricultural Business Operations careers — again drawn from O*NET surveys of related occupations:

• Oral Expression — Importance 4.2 / 5; level 5.0 / 7.
• Oral Comprehension — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.6 / 7.
• Speech Clarity — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.4 / 7.
• Written Comprehension — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.5 / 7.
• Deductive Reasoning — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.2 / 7.

Common Job Activities

Day-to-day, Agricultural Business Operations graduates report doing:

Activity	Frequency / Importance
Making Decisions and Solving Problems	4.4 / 7
Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates	4.4 / 7
Getting Information	4.3 / 7
Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work	4.2 / 7
Training and Teaching Others	4.2 / 7
Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships	4.1 / 7
Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events	4.1 / 7
Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge	4.1 / 7
Communicating with People Outside the Organization	4.0 / 7
Scheduling Work and Activities	4.0 / 7

Technology Skills Used on the Job

Most frequently-cited tools used by Agricultural Business Operations professionals:

Tool / Software	Category	In-Demand
Web browser software	Internet browser software	—
Microsoft Word	Word processing software	—
Microsoft Outlook	Electronic mail software	—
Microsoft Excel	Spreadsheet software	✓
Microsoft PowerPoint	Presentation software	—
Word processing software	Word processing software	—
Microsoft Office software	Office suite software	✓
Email software	Electronic mail software	—
Spreadsheet software	Spreadsheet software	—
Google Docs	Word processing software	—
iParadigms Turnitin	Information retrieval or search software	—
Epic Systems	Medical software	—

^{Source: ONET Online technology skills, weighted across related occupations.*}

Sample Job Titles

Real job postings for Agricultural Business Operations graduates include:

• Horticulture Manager
• Fisheries Instructor
• Faculty Member
• Agricultural Soil Conservation Professor
• Agronomy Professor
• Agricultural Education Professor
• Horticulture Professor
• Animal Pathology Teacher
• Agriculture Teacher
• Animal Science Instructor
• Agribusiness Professor
• Soil Conservation Teacher
• Horticulture Teacher
• Agriculture Professor
• Animal Husbandry Teacher

Education Typically Required

Across the occupations open to Agricultural Business Operations graduates, the typical level of education actually held by current workers is distributed as:

Education Level	Share of Workers
Doctoral degree	55.3%
Post-doctoral training	27%
Master’s degree	14.0%
Bachelor’s degree	1.4%
Associate’s degree (or other 2-year)	1.4%
Post-master’s certificate	0.8%

^{Source: ONET Online education / training / experience requirements.*}

Who Is Earning a Degree in Agricultural Business Operations?

Gender Distribution

This field has a relatively balanced gender distribution: 48.7% women and 51.3% men among Agricultural Business Operations graduates.

Gender	Graduates	Share
Women	1,739	48.7%
Men	1,834	51.3%

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the national level, the racial-ethnic distribution of Agricultural Business Operations graduates is as follows:

Race / Ethnicity	Graduates	Share
White	2,494	69.8%
Asian	22	0.6%
Hispanic or Latino	735	20.6%
Black or African American	89	2.5%
American Indian / Alaska Native	27	0.8%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander	2	0.1%
Two or More Races	79	2.2%
Race Unknown	96	2.7%
International Students	29	0.8%

^{See minority definition below.}

How Much Do Agricultural Business Operations Graduates Earn?

The U.S. Department of Education tracks median earnings of Agricultural Business Operations graduates 1, 4, and 5 years after completion. Wages typically rise steadily as graduates gain experience and move into mid-career roles.

Years Out	Median Earnings
1 year	$49,730
4 years	$57,738
5 years	$66,345

By year 5 out, median earnings rise to $66,345 — roughly 33% above the 1-year mark.

^{Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard, field-of-study earnings tracker.}

Online Agricultural Business Operations Programs

Fully online options is tracked by IPEDS for Agricultural Business Operations. The table below shows how many graduates earned at least some of their coursework online (Distance-Ed Available) versus completing the entire program online (Distance-Ed Only).

Award Level	Distance-Ed Available	Distance-Ed Only
Associate’s	7	10
Bachelor’s	7	13
Master’s	6	0

^{Distance-Ed Only = degrees completed entirely online; Distance-Ed Available = degrees including at least some online coursework. Source: IPEDS Completions by Distance Education status.}

Is a Degree in Agricultural Business Operations Worth It?

Strictly by the federal earnings tracker, Agricultural Business Operations graduates earn a median of $57,738 four years after completion — roughly 52% above the national median for workers with only a high school diploma (~$38,000).

^{ROI estimate compares the program’s 4-yr median earnings against the 2023 BLS CPS median earnings for high-school-only workers. Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard + BLS Current Population Survey.}

Related Programs

You may also be interested in these closely related fields of study:

Program	Annual Degrees Awarded
Agricultural Business and Management	8,612
Animal Sciences, General	7,535
Agricultural Business and Management, General	2,188
Agricultural Economics	1,768
Agronomy and Crop Science	1,201
Animal/Livestock Husbandry and Production	841
Agricultural Production Operations, General	820
Agroecology and Sustainable Agriculture	769
Farm/Farm and Ranch Management	668
Animal Sciences, Other	249
Agricultural/Farm Supplies Retailing and Wholesaling	243
Agricultural Business and Management, Other	137

References

The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students and international students. This number is then divided by the total number of students to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

• College Factual
• National Center for Education Statistics (IPEDS)
• O*NET Online
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard

More about our data sources and methodologies.