What even is Agronomy?

If you are an Agronomy student, you will hear this question more than you thought was possible. I honestly think if I got a dollar every time I was asked, “What is Agronomy?” I would be able to pay my tuition. But how do you explain what the major Agronomy is? Even some people with an agricultural background still don’t know what this weird word means. The short and simple way to say it is crop and soil science. If you feel really fancy, you may say the study of crop production and soil management.

Sadly, an agronomist is not usually what a kindergartner wishes to be when they grow up. The occupation is not as popular as a doctor, police officer, lawyer, vet, or even a farmer. However, agronomist are extremely important to our world. Without them, today’s yields would be impossible, certain foods and resources would be even more scare worldwide, and farmers would not know how to interpret data collected from the newest agricultural technologies.

When you study agronomy, you get to educate others and promote the importance of this type of science. You will also realize there is much more to agronomy than just crop and soil science, but how else do you explain the word to someone that can not pronounce agronomy the correct way on the first try. So if this field of study is right for you, be prepared to answer this question almost every time you get asked, “What is your major?”.