Nature of work
The work and job of agricultural conservation scientists plays a vital role in retaining the Nation's supply of food by assuring the food safety and agricultural productivity. Agricultural conservation scientists study animals and farm crops and build up different ways of improving and maintaining their quality and quantity. They look for different ways to improve yield of crop with control pests, less labor, and weeds more effectively and safely, and conserve water and soil. They research ways of changing raw agricultural supplies into healthy and attractive products of food for consumers. Some agricultural conservation scientists find ways to use products of agricultural fuels and oils.
In the past two decades, fast advances in some study of heredity have encouraged the biotechnology growth. Some agricultural conservation scientists use biotechnology to control the genetic material of crops and plants, trying to make these organisms more resistant and productive to different diseases. Fast advancements in biotechnology have released up new opportunities of research in many parts of agricultural science, including profitable applications in environmental remediation, agriculture, and the industry of food. Interest in the construction of fuels or bio fuels built from agricultural derivatives has also expanded. Some agricultural conservation scientist work with chemists and biologists to develop some procedure for turning crops into sources of energy, such as ethanol formed from corn. Another new technology or system expected to change agriculture is known as nanotechnology—a manufacturing of molecular technology which promises to change methods of testing food and agricultural products for spoilage or contamination. Some scientists of agriculture make use of nanotechnology to build up sensors that can accurately and quickly sense contaminant food molecules.
Many agricultural conservation scientists work in applied and basic development or research. Basic development and research seeks to manage and understand the chemical and biological processes by which livestock and crops grow, such as determining the part of a required gene in the growth of plant. Applied research and development uses this type of research or knowledge to find out new mechanisms to improve the quantity, quality or security of agricultural products. Many other agricultural scientists administer development and research programs or production operations in companies or manage marketing that produces agricultural chemicals, food products, machinery and supplies. Some conservation scientists are specialists to some private clients, business firms, or government. The nature of the work performed varies on the food or agricultural scientist's area of specialization.
Technologists and Food scientists usually work in the processing of food industry, universities, colleges, or the Federal Government to improve and create food products. They use their education and knowledge of physics, chemistry, engineering, biotechnology, microbiology, and other sciences to make better or new methods of processing, preserving, storing, packaging, and foods delivering. Some scientists engage themselves in basic and initial development and research, discovering new sources of food; analyzing content of food to determine vitamin levels, sugar, fat, or protein; or searching for some alternate for undesirable or harmful additives, for example nitrites. Others engage in applied development or research, finding different methods to remove harmful additives or to improve the food content. They also design methods to preserve, process, package, or store some food according to government regulations or industries. Conventional processing of food research into blanching, baking, drying, canning, pasteurization and evaporation, and others also goes on. Other agriculture or food scientists enforce regulations of government; inspecting processing areas of food and making it sure that that safety, sanitation, wastes management and quality standards are met.
The technologists of agriculture or food usually work in development of products, applying the findings from research of food science to improve the preservation, selection, processing, and distribution of food and packaging.
Training, qualification and advancement
Most food and agricultural scientists require at least a master's degree to work in applied or basic research, whereas a bachelor's degree is enough for some jobs in product development or applied research, or many jobs in other professions associated with agricultural science.
Training and Education
Training and education requirements for agricultural scientists depend on the kind of work they perform. A person having a bachelor's degree in the field of agricultural science is enough for some jobs in the development of a product or assisting in applied development and research, but a doctoral or master's is usually used for basic progress and research or for work straight to applied research. A person having a Ph.D. degree in agricultural science usually is required for university teaching and for advancement and improvement to senior positions of research. Degrees associated with sciences such as chemistry, biology, or physics or in some associated engineering areas of expertise also may make people eligible for many jobs in agricultural science. There are many land-grant universities and colleges that offer degrees in agricultural science. However, not every college or school provides study in all areas of expertise. A usual syllabus of agricultural science undergraduate consists of mathematics, communications, business, economics, and courses of life and physical sciences, in addition to a broad range of technical and scientific agricultural science courses.
