/grow/ - Plants, Livestock & Crops

>>58
Currently working towards becoming an Agronomist in the UK. It's tough, they make you jump through many hoops. Still really interesting. I am currently working towards an International Agriculture degree. Soil science is the shit, very interesting when you start working with soils in the tropics. A good example is around Africa, the soils are very old and highly varied unlike in temperate zones. Especially with a rising interest in Africa from countries like China, it's a chance to get in where the money is. Of course the shame with soil science is that it's just one part of an Agronomists job, and although it is a broad field the stuff you will actually get paid for is limited.
Being an Ag student rocks. Lots of weed and fucking, if you are into that sort of thing.
I would say however that if you are jumping in with the hopes of working outdoors you will be disappointed. That's roughly 20% of the job, the rest is either desk work or sweet talking farm managers.
Learning about the subject however is really engaging and highly technical and solving problems can be both fun and stessful. However that's not all the time. Most farmers just want to know what chemicals to dump on. That's why I enjoy organic farms. Actually teaching the farmers about the life in the soil and how to manage and attain soil fertility is fun and a little frustrating.
Like a farm I was at this summer were not adding enough organic matter to the soil. Their soil was a clay loam at best in patches but in some parts was almost pure clay. They were attempting to grow root vegetables but at the clay dried out it went rock solid. The vegetables weren't growing and I kept telling them the problem was their soil and they kept saying they never had that problem last year, but the field they were using had been left to fallow and there was more rainfall last year.
By the time I left I had complained at them till they started massive compost heaps and were adding organic material after harvesting.
Of course if I had sent samples for testing I could have shown them in black and white the soil composition and microbial levels and then later the improvement, but this was for free in my own time so I'm not blowing my money on that.
What Uni were you thinking of going to?

>>59
I've honestly just always loved the study of biology, plants, growing things, etc…
But I'm not so hot at math.

Taking AP bio right now and doing alright; I've started a greenhouse at my school and we're growing carrots.

Uni wise I've been accepted in Texas A&M college-station; once of the best colleges in the US for Ag studies.
I'm really looking to hear more about classload and such.

What level math courses will I likely be facing and what should I be studying now?

I love the idea of Agronomy but I've always been a bookish kinda guy.
Scored top 1% of the nation in my verbal/writing section of the SAT but scored barely above average at math (average is pretty terrible).
If the worst happens I could always take Ag Leadership and Development; though I'd really like to avoid that.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that next year I'll be an incoming freshman studying Ag; help pls.

>>60
I should add; I've got an Introduction to Agronomy book but the "Environmental Soil Chemistry" book I picked up is so far proving far beyond my simple brain.

>>59
And the reason I'd like to study this field, beyond what I've mentioned so far, is that it's more challenging and interesting to me than something that'd I know I'd pass with flying colors like PolySci, English, History, etc…

>>60
What on earth do you imagine you would need math for? Maybe it's different in the U.K. (I think not) but we barely do any math. It's mostly software packages that take care the calculations. At most I would imagine using spread sheets. As for on the spot math, people get fired for just calculating on the spot. Most calculations are carefully pre-determined, maybe 30/40 years ago you would be expected to work with pen and paper but even the best make mistakes which is why it's all software based now. Really if that's the only thing worrying you then you'll be fine. All the science and latin will come with time.

Also Tex A&M is one of the few I have heard of, very good breeding department if I recall. Get a degree son.
Diving straight into soil chemistry may not be the best idea as a first step. Not sure about the level you are at but a soil scientist I know gave me a book recommendation that really helped give me a broad base of knowledge to get started.
"Principles of Horticulture", Adams, Bamford & Early. The later book deal primarily with gardening techniques and such but this book has a basic level of knowledge that applies both to Hort and Ag.
I also have "An Introduction to Agricultural Biochemistry" Chesworth, Stuchbury & Scaife. It's a very simple bio book dealing with mostly animals. Animals might not appeal to you but people who manage pasture still need agronomists and if you work with them you will need a basic understanding of the animals' relationship with the land.

No joke, you should start growing plants at home, on a window sill or under lights. Start trying different things with the soil and trying to apply knowledge. It really helps get a grasp of a plants relationship with it's growing medium and gives good instincts for understanding plants. I currently have 23 different plants around my desk.

>>63
You've done wonders to assuage my fears.
Any other books you'd recommend to someone starting out?

Honestly, thank you for all you've done to lessen my inhibitions about trying something like this; it's been great talking to you here and any other advice, stories, or tips would be wholly appreciated.