More Than Farming: Inside SCC's Agriculture Program

When most people hear "agriculture," they picture a tractor in a field. Fair enough. But here's a stat that might surprise you: production farming makes up only about one percent of the jobs in the ag industry.

One.

The other 99 percent? Agribusiness, agronomy, animal science, conservation, ag tech, precision equipment, research, sales, marketing, food production. Drones and data. Livestock and logistics. It's one of the biggest, most essential industries on the planet, and it touches every single person on earth three times a day.

SCC's Agriculture Science program is built to get you into any of it.

Hands Dirty From Day One

If you want a program that keeps you in a lecture hall all day, this isn't it.

SCC's Ag program is built around real, hands-on work. Students plant crops, work with animals, run precision ag tech, attend industry conferences, take field trips, and hear from guest speakers who do this stuff for a living. Classroom time matters, but it's not the whole deal. The goal is for you to leave knowing how to do the work, not just talk about it.

You'll also complete two internships before you graduate. That's two chances to network with industry partners, figure out what part of ag actually lights you up, and line up a job before you even finish your degree.

Three Ways In (and Two Ways to Specialize)

One of the best things about the Ag program is flexibility. Depending on how much time you've got and where you want to end up, you can choose your level:

• Agriculture Certificate: One semester. Entry-level skills, fast.

• Agriculture Diploma: One year. Core concepts and techniques you can put to work immediately.

• Agriculture Science AAS: Two-year associate degree. Goes deeper, opens more doors, and can transfer.

Going the AAS route? You can pick a focus area:

• Agribusiness for the business side: marketing, sales, commodities, farm management, ag law

• Animal Science for anyone drawn to livestock production, animal health, and herd management

And here's a nice touch: the AAS can be completed fully online if you need the schedule flexibility. Farm life, full-time job, family, whatever the reason. It works around you.

Still in High School? Start Early.

If you're a high school student who's curious about agriculture, SCC has a Jump Start Agriculture Academy that lets you earn 17 college credit hours before you graduate high school. Classes are taught by the same SCC instructors you'd have later, and everything transfers into any of the Ag program options. Get a certificate of completion, get a head start on college, save a little money. Not bad.

The Career Side

Here's the part nobody tells high school students loud enough: ag jobs are everywhere, they pay well, and the industry isn't going anywhere. Every person eats. Every business needs supply chains. Every farm, every co-op, every food manufacturer needs people who understand the work.

SCC Ag grads go into:

• Agronomy and crop consulting

• Agribusiness and sales

• Animal science and livestock production

• Conservation and environmental management

• Precision ag and data analysis

• Farm and ranch management

• Transfer to four-year universities (Iowa State, anyone?) for further study

How to Get Started

Explore the program details on SCC's Agriculture page, or reach out to Admissions:

• West Burlington: 319-208-5155, text 319-250-7144, admissionswb@scciowa.edu

• Keokuk: 319-313-1923, text 319-220-3266, admissionskeo@scciowa.edu

Agriculture is bigger, smarter, and more high-tech than most people realize. It needs people who can work with their hands, work with their heads, and aren't afraid of a little dirt.

Sound like you? Come get started.