Agricultural Scientist and Their Task

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The accident in Europe caused the U.S. government to make contingency plans to cope with the spillage of oil or hazardous substances off its shores. Those plans proved invaluable when, on January 28, 1969, an oil well in the Santa Barbara, California, harbour blew, discharging enormous quantities of oil into the Pacific Ocean. Within three days, oil covered nearly 200 square miles of ocean and began washing up on beaches for hundreds of miles. Without all types of communications media, especially colour television, the impact on public opinion in this country might have been negligible. Millions of readers and viewers, however, were emotionally moved by pictures of thousands of seabirds struggling to survive their coatings of oil and dispersing chemicals and were struck by the valiant efforts of volunteers trying to clean and save them.

It is ironic that oil spills still regularly occur, particularly because Santa Barbara was the symbolic trigger for the first Earth Day, which launched the modern environmental movement that now has reached worldwide proportions.

In this chapter, we are concerned with natural resources, their protection, enjoyment, and diverse uses, from food and fibre to forests and fishes.



Agricultural Sciences

American agriculture is the most efficient in the world. Per capita, it is the most productive segment of our economy. Credit for American agriculture's accomplishments goes largely to the land-grant colleges and universities with their network of cooperative state research and extension services. (There is no denying the contributions of technology and economies of scale, as small farms have been consolidated into more efficient large farming operations. In this respect, agriculture is similar to the industrial and marketing sectors, where expansion, mergers and absentee ownership characterize the business world.)

American agriculture is changing in response to changing social needs and demands. Its over dependence on chemicals is being questioned by environmentalists, and many farmers are moving into integrated pest control, using insecticides as little as possible. Early in the 1980s, organic farming was being promoted, for the first time, by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and thousands of farmers were adopting its principles. Farmers were widely adopting new techniques of energy conservation in agriculture, at the same time making a growing contribution to energy supply through increased production of grain for alcohol that can be combined with gasoline to produce "gasohol."

The Bureau of Labour Statistics estimated that agricultural scientists held about 29,000 jobs in 1992, not counting those who taught. As combination teaching-research jobs in the land-grant colleges and universities and associated agricultural experiment stations form a very large component of the agricultural science community, omitting them from the census is a serious omission. Until it is corrected, we can only guess that there must be at least 10,000 teacher-researchers on those campuses in America.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Science and Education Administration operate 8 major research centres and more than 150 other research facilities, located in virtually all the states. In addition, it sponsors research in hundreds of colleges, especially in the 74 land-grand agricultural colleges.

Federally sponsored research and development embrace conservation and management of such natural resources as soil, water, and forests; animal and crop production-protection; crop utilization and post-harvest technology; human nutrition and family-resource management; and domestic and export marketing.

What Do Agricultural Scientists Do?

Become an agricultural scientist and you might study the effects of changing climate and weather on agricultural production; work to eliminate the sources of pollution that result from agricultural practices; explore uses of fuel made from plant products; search for ways to reduce the use of fossil fuels in producing crops and livestock; test the possibilities of aquaculture (farming systems for plants and animals that live in water); find safe, feasible ways to use organic wastes; explore biological (non-chemical) pest control methods; promote urban and agricultural integrated pest management practices; develop methods for assuring the safety and quality of food and food products; conduct basic and applied research in the animal and plant sciences; do controlled experiments in human nutrition and diet; develop community resources in rural areas; conduct home audits for energy conservation; or develop systems to assist the public in coping with natural disaster emergencies.

The agricultural sciences, like the biological sciences, form a broad and complex field. It is divided into many categories, the major ones being outlined but not detailed here. The agricultural chemist develops chemical compounds to control insects, weeds, fungi, and rodents. The agricultural economist deals with the production, pricing, and marketing of farm products. In addition, the agricultural engineer designs agricultural machinery and develops methods to improve the production, processing, and distribution of farm products.

The agronomist experiments with field crops, and a sub-specialist, the horticulturist, does the same with orchard and garden plants. The animal physiologist is concerned with livestock and the various parts of the animals-a sub-specialist to the animal scientist, who is concerned with the breeding and management of farm animals. The veterinarian is responsible for the health of farm animals. In addition, the entomologist concentrates on the control of insects that may injure plants and animals.

Those are only a few of the specialists who might work on problems and issues of agriculture.

What Education Do Agricultural Scientists Need?

Many agricultural science professions can be entered with only the bachelor's degree, sometimes with a major in environmental science/ environmental studies, especially one from a college of agriculture and natural resources.

One of the fastest-growing areas of higher education-as a direct consequence of the environmental movement-is colleges of agriculture and natural resources. During the 1980s, when college enrolments generally were dropping and many schools began recruiting students, the nation's agricultural colleges had all the students they could accommodate.
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