An educational focus in agriculture is very much focused on big agriculture. There is very little focus on plants outside of the context of large scale production. It is very, very different from what people outside of the agricultural world imagine.
I can touch on this broadly from a non-cannabis agricultural perspective. I had a tiny bit of serendipitous exposure to the USDA and to agriculture in my previous career, unrelated to my field. It was enough to get me interested in Ag. It’s one of the big things that got me started down this cannabis road. I’d never even gardened or grown a plant before that. I did not have a ‘agrarian’ childhood.
I dove in relatively hard after I retired. I took classes, got certifications, and started doing ag work with the major land grand university extension in the state. I even had a gradening/ag radio show for a while. I was trying to make the best of a difficult situation by diving into the agricultural thing pretty hard. Ultimately, I got horrifically burned out and made some very eye opening observations about agriculture and making your living on the land.
Farmers, and ag workers to a lesser degree, are a battered, beaten, and defeated group of people. They are the strongest, hardest working people on earth, but they also have the hardest job on earth. I can say that confidently, having seen and experienced some of the world’s tougher jobs. Between the violence and unpredictability of nature, the terrible mismanagement of agriculture by the government, the rising costs of operations, and the insane competition from both mega and foreign farms. It’s harder work than the hardest of men and women, and farmer’s kids are leaving farming faster than ever, because they realize literally any profession–even coal mining–would be easier.
Agricultural work is not as ‘romantic’ as it seems. Cannabis is still in the small farm, vineyard-style relationship mode of farming. It’s non sustainable in such a money driven industry. Cannabis is going to be an insanely rapidly changing industry. The romance will be gone very soon, at least at the level where an agricultural degree is of benefit.
The changing legal landscape will compound the already inherent unpredictability of ag work in cannabis. You will never feel in control of your environment and livelihood, because, well, you won’t be in control of it. Nature and the state will. This is a reality ‘regular’ farmers and ag workers already live. This is the reality of an educational focus in agriculture, not pastoral, idyllic, sprawling, hillside cannabis plantations.
I am not trying to discourage you. There are many ways to successfully engage in commercial agriculture work on a fulfilling and person level, but none of of those are really benefitted by an educational focus in agriculture. Instead, I would argue a degree in botany, horticulture, or ecology would be more useful for a plant focused career in cannabis. I’ve seen some especially cool farming/ag projects from ecology majors since the dangers of monoculture are finally being realized. There are more than a few grants avilable for ecological farming projects. Big level agriculture, at the degree level, is oddly quite separated from the plants because of how much time and energy is dedicated to just… running a farm. It’s horrific.
I am humbled by the strength, stoicism, and bravery of farmers. But, I don’t blame their kids for getting out. I know I abandoned my plans the second I saw how difficult it was, and I never give up on things.
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. Really in that type of market it will be about quality. I mean, who will care if you can grow 400 square feet and make $2,000,000 a year; haha I don’t even think that a corp could employ anyone when a home grower is making that kind of money…they (corp) would be better off to invest in mutual funds. I believe that a formal market will be established.