I am PROUD to be an agronomist! After more than 30 years as an agronomist, I am still excited that I chose a career serving the needs of farmers and crop specialists who are dedicated to feeding the world. While growing up on a farm in central Iowa, I knew I wanted to be a part of agriculture. Little did I know that my decision to serve those who serve agriculture would give me the opportunity to be a part of agriculture in countries around the world. You can be an agronomist too!
Welcome to the Department of Agronomy, Horticulture and Plant Science. Here, students will find individualized, challenging, and career-building experiences. Undergraduate education in our department consists of a unique combination of experiences that stem from vast learning opportunities inside and outside of the classroom. Our varied disciplines enable our graduates serve as agronomists, horticulturalists and arborists throughout South Dakota, Iowa, Minnesota and around the United States. This isn’t surprising since our graduates are in high demand; we are proud that more than 97 percent of our graduating seniors report they have a job or are going to graduate school after graduation. Our new and first-in-the-nation B.S. in precision agriculture will provide highly trained agronomists to a rapidly growing area of agriculture.
Our faculty is dedicated to providing students with a satisfying and valuable experience in the classroom. We also encourage students to explore training through internships as a first step towards a life-long career. If you are a prospective undergraduate or graduate student, please look over our information about curriculum, careers, clubs and scholarships. We think you will see why student enrollment in our agronomy, horticulture and precision agriculture programs continue to rise.
If you are interested in how plants, insects, microbes and soils function and interact with our changing environment, or how precision agriculture can be used to improve production agriculture, South Dakota State University is the place to be.
Finally, for those of you who graduated from one of our programs, thank you for coming back to visit our website. Please come back to see us in person.
Sincerely,
David L. Wright
Professor and Department Head
Department of Plant Science