Agriculture Science
Our country provides its citizens with the safest, most abundant food supply in the world. At North Arkansas College, we provide lecture, demonstration and student opportunity to increase knowledge of production agriculture. Our efforts provide students, producers, and our community with the most up-to-date research in order to continue the production of our food for a growing population, utilizing environmentally conservative methods.
The primary courses offered each semester are those courses which provide students with the greatest opportunity to transfer core curriculum to senior institutions for baccalaureate degrees in Animal Sciences, Agriculture Extension/ Education, Communication, Systems Technology, Agriculture Economics, Poultry Science, Plant, Horticulture, Crop, Soil, Agronomy, and Environmental Sciences, and most degrees offered at land grant Universities.
The primary objective of this department is to prepare future animal nutritionist, reproductive physiologist, geneticist, soil scientist, horticulturalist, plant pathologist, as well as all other professions within agriculture. To inspire those with the passion for agriculture in our area to pursue higher education and create a future professional more capable of producing our food and fiber with less resources in environmentally safe methods.
PHOTO: Introduction to the Equine Industry (AGRI 2023) Lab Exercise conducted at Designer Genes Technologies: at the completion of this lab, students should be able to discuss the attributes of conformation, distinguish the flight zones, and execute proper procedures of approaching young horses.
PHOTO: Introductory Animal and Poultry Science Lab (AGRI 1001) conducted at the North Arkansas College Agriculture Science Facility: at the completion of this lab, students should be able to conduct and execute the proper procedures of administering subcutaneous vaccinations.
PHOTO: Behavior of Domestic Animals (AGRI 2213) conducted at Designer Genes Technologies: at the completion of this lab, students should be able to identify management practices and facilities which decrease the level of stress in cattle being processed.
PHOTO: Soil Science (AGRI 2204) lab exercise conducted adjacent to the North Arkansas College Agriculture Science Facility: at the completion of this lab, students should be able to properly utilize a soil probe to abstract soil, determine the factor of that soil by ribboning, and compare and contrast their results to the limitations of that soil as portrayed in the soil survey.
Activities:
- National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association
- Collegiate FFA
- Collegiate Farm Bureau
- Pioneer Hands
Importance of Agriculture:
http://www.agcensus.usda.gov/Publications/2007/Online_Highlights/County_Profiles/Arkansas/cp99005.pdf
It is common knowledge we are in a highly competitive global economy, and a college education has never been more important. According to the U.S. Department of Labor, “about 90 percent of the fastest-growing jobs of the future will require some postsecondary education or training.” The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development reports, “College graduates in the U.S. earn nearly twice as much as workers with just a high school diploma, one of the highest rates in the world.”
Job openings requiring university degrees continue to increase, while the number of graduates remains insufficient to fill the demand. The USDA estimates that between 2005 and 2010, more than 52,000 job openings will be available each year for graduates in food, agriculture, and natural resources degree programs, but U.S. universities will turn out only about 49,300 graduates annually to fill those jobs. About 32,000 of those graduates will earn agricultural science or natural resources degrees, while about 17,000 will come from allied educational programs, such as biological sciences, engineering, and business. (Employment Opportunities for College Graduates in the U.S. Food, Agricultural, and Natural Resources System)
Importance of Agriculture in Our Area:
2007 Census of Agriculture County Profile for Boone, Arkansas
Market Value of Production
for Boone County
$119,807,000
- Crop Sales $2,081,000 (2 percent)
- Livestock Sales $117,725,000 (98 percent)
Market Value of Production
for entire state
$7,508,806,000
- Crop Sales $2,900,973,000 (39 percent)
- Livestock Sales $4,607,833,000 (61 percent)