AGRISCIENCE

Includes greenhouse and field activities that include ornamental horticulture and landscape architecture. Careers can result from formal training that is limited to selected college courses, or adavanceddegrees. Greenhouse technical skills are common to this field, as is the need for computer and lab skills. Botanical familiarity is important, as is a keen understanding of business plans and market fluctuations. agriscience focuses on the scientific (or predictable) aspects of agriculture.

AGRIBUSINESS

Emphasizes the marketing, analysis and product development utilized in agricultural. Agriculture is the biggest business in the world, and operating any agricultural enterprise as a business ensures that profits will support investments and improvements will be made with research and innovations. Strong business training and a firm understanding and dedication to agriculture are required in this filed.

Is one of the newest fields in agriculture, and major corporations are doing business in Ventura County. The first genetically modified crops were introduced to the market in 1995, and now they represent the majority crop in many cases. Ventura College was the first college in the state to have a plan biotechnology program, and currently has graduates working in local companies. Plant biotechnology requires a thorough understanding of biotechnology and agriculture. Moving genes into plants can create higher value crops in the food, fiber and bio –product industry. Careers in this field can begin with a college certification in some areas, and in other areas may require advance degrees.
Agriculture is the largest employee-based industry in Ventura County, and plant biotechnology is the field that can keep it that way.

ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

Environmental problem solving often necessitates a team approach involving specialists from diverse disciplines.
Geographic Positioning Satellite and Geographic information Systems environmental Services can organize and mange total project solutions. Selected areas include:

•  Field data collection for life and earth sciences
•  Photo interpretation and remote sensing.
•  Database analysis and design.
•  GPS survey.

NATURAL RESOURCES

Requires specialists from diverse disciplines. Specialties, in park management, wildlife biology, ecology, site restoration, and soil and water engineering are common. Careers include ecologist, arborist, re-vegetation specialist, soil and water technician, habitat restoration specialist, and consultants in all these areas.

PREPARATION FOR CAREERS

Your high school is a great place to become familiar with careers in agriculture. Many agriculture, environmental science, and science courses are preparatory or directly articulate to college courses. Considerable time can be saved by taking the right courses in high school. Work with your counselor or agriculture teacher to determine where you want to transfer, and which courses would be best to take for your chosen career (or explore these careers to help make your selection earlier .

Ventura College

Offers programs in Plans biotechnology, GIS/GPS, agribusiness natural resources, and horticulture. Courses can prepare you for direct career entry, skill- upgrading or completion of a technical certificate or AA degree. VC accepts Advanced Placement courses from your school, so check the catalog. Most courses at the college transfer to four- year universities. VC is a smart investment in your education, costing an average of $ 286 per year. Compare that to CSU at $1,892 and UC at $3,830 per year (2002 figures).

Some high school classes in agriscience will count for college credit (talk to your teacher, or a counselor). If you take these courses in high school, you can save a lot of time (and be better prepared) when you get to college. You may wish to enroll in college courses while in high school (tuition is free!). Talk to your agricultural teacher and your counselor for details (or access the college of your choice on line for details of preparation in your major).

Why start at a community college?

If you choose to go to Ventura College you can fulfill most of the freshman and sophomore requirements for agriscience majors, before transferring to a university. If you want to work in agriculture, you can take courses for a technical certificate, work, and transfer to a university later. Check with your counselor or www.ventura.cc.ca.us for certificate and degrees.

The following universities provide transfer majors in agriculture, natural resources, environmental sciences, or related sciences, such as biotechnology.

California state University,
Channel Islands California Sate University,
Northridge California state university
San Luis Obispo and Pomona California state university Chico
California state university,
Fresno California state university,
Humboldt University of California,
Santa Barbara, Davis Berkeley,
Los Angeles and San Diego

California and Ventura County

Our county is rapidly becoming a horticulture, greenhouse and biotechnology center. It is home to such companies a Ceres, Seminis Seeds, Twyford Plant labs, Rincon Vitova Insectaries, Jackson-Perkins Research, and BC Distributors. Our county is known for fresh production and processing, hyrdoponics, lemons, strawberries, and raspberries.
At Port Hueneme, exporting of agricultural products adds considerably to the local economy.

WHY Choose Acareer in Agriscience?

Agriculture is one the world's largest industries, employing over I billion people and producing more than $ 1.3 trillion in goods each year. World food output per person increased by 25% over the past 40 years, even though land use has grown by only 10% and the world population has increased by 90% (the economist, 2000). The methods that were developed hundreds of years ago to provide plants and animals with specific. Traits are now being accelerated by moving the genes between living organisms.

Agriculture is one of the last industries to benefit from gene transfer to plants, but has the potential to be one of the biggest beneficiaries. Plant pesticides, natural weed killers, and bio products like vaccines are only a few of the biotechnological innovations that have made some transgenic varieties of plants the most common commercial forms grown.

What Dose California need?

California's agricultural production is the highest in the nation with cash receipts of $ 26.8 billion. This accounts for 8.5 % of the state's income and 9% of its jobs.

It is also estimated that for every $1 billion in agricultural export sale 27,000 jobs are created.

$8,673,384,781 in payroll is identified for the state, with $412,081,988 generated by Ventura county, with an expected shortfall of specialists that is projected at 15% (Cal trade & Commerce, 2000). The Labor Market Information Occupational Employment Projections for the period 1996-2006 show an estimated increase of 35,720 positions (23.9%) across various Occupations within agriculture (agricultural engineers alone represent a 31.3shortfall).

What is Ventura County's need?

Ventura County leads the nation in agriculture with a $ 1 + billion industry. It supplies 47% of the nation's Lemons and 15% of its Strawberries. (Ventura County Crop report, 2000). Ventura County also has a large biotech industry, being home to the largest biotech (Amgen) and many ag-biotech companies (e.g.Ceres Inc, Seminis Seeds and Twyford Plant Labs). They are part of an industry that numbers 2,500 companies and 212,700 workers (in California) is in search of new food, fiber, and bio-products from bioreactor plants. Ventura County was also one of the first to adopt GPS methods (in1993 for fire protection and Sheriff's Office coordination activities)