Only 4,172 undergraduate students are enrolled in agriculture programs at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo. The university is the fifth largest for agriculture in the nation. It brings up the shocking fact that less than 2 percent of our nation is involved in agriculture. The entire population of the United States relies on agriculture whether they realize it or not. The pressure is on this limited number of students to not on keep the agriculture industry alive, but to provide for the rest of the United States as well.
The university is extremely successful in putting into practice its “Learn By Doing” motto. The College of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Sciences teaches classes across 9,650 acres on the California central coast. These 4,172 students are in labs starting on their first day at Cal Poly. These labs teach them hands-on skills that they go on to use in future career paths. Most people think of agriculture as crop farming or growing vegetables. However, the land owned by Cal Poly also teaches labs about everything from water and irrigation to global land management. Of this land, 6,000 acres are located directly around Cal Poly’s campus. This land is available for students to access at any time. It also houses multiple state-of-the-art facilities. All students in the agriculture programs have access to these labs and experiences.
Even with the small amount of students, the university is known state-wide as one of the top, if not the top, agriculture school. The average salary for these students is around $46K right out of college. Even though to program is one of the smallest on campus, it shows just how close knit the agriculture industry is. Professors, interns, and students work side-by-side everyday to keep the agriculture industry afloat. The College of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Sciences works every day to develop those 4,172 students into employees who will demonstrate leadership and success in their careers post-graduation.
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