The field of Agricultural Science includes such disciplines as understanding how plants grow, the properties of soil, horticulture, land management, food production and so much more. It goes beyond the anatomy of a flower or fruit, and the best season to plant. It looks at the whole ecosystem, and how humans can interact with it in a balanced manner. This field also embodies humanities, economics, technical writing, and the natural sciences like earth, chemistry and biology. This field contributes to society because it’s where food and many textiles come from. Without agriculture, the food industry would collapse because the two are interdependent.

Careers available in this field of study include (but not limited to) agronomy, farm management, field surveying, food science, environmental engineering, landscaping, natural resource research, forestry, nursery and greenhouse work. These workers contribute to the betterment of agriculture’s smooth operation by finding solutions to common issues. Pesticides, for example, have a mixed reputation because of their negative impact on beneficial insects, ecosystems and human health. Agricultural scientists work to find new ways of fighting pestilence and disease to ensure healthy plants with good yield and minimal effect on the ecosystem.

Studying the benefits and pitfalls of genetically modified organisms is leading to new solutions on the farm- higher yields and less land use. Micro-drip irrigation technology now helps farms keep their water use to only what is needed and no more. All this and more is done to make farms run better and food production stay balanced.

One particular arena of interest is finding more organic ways to solve problems- like using natural predators against pests in the field. The parasitic wasp, for example, is becoming a champion of predatory insects because of its incredible ability control caterpillar populations that can devastate a crop.