Start prepping NOW for your dream job or work-anywhere trade skills!
Turn Your Green Thumb into a Budding Career and Plant Seeds for Success
It’s a big, colorful, wide world out there. Some are more inclined to dig into it than others. Are you blessed with a green thumb? Do you love spending time in the great outdoors? Do you count the flowers, plants, and trees amongst your friends? If this sounds like you, then you might want to plant the seeds for a fruitful career in agriculture business. This multi-layered, deeply-connected pathway offers outdoors-inclined and plant-loving students an entryway into both a valuable college degree and a rewarding career path. It’s a great way to shine some light on a bright future in the business of agriculture.
What You'll Learn
Take what you’re learning in the classroom into the real world and experience for yourself all that awaits you in the agriculture industry. Immersive and insightful experiences include:
- Learn sustainable urban farming techniques
- Explore marketing and entrepreneurship
- Guest speakers from industry
- Field trips to local farms and businesses, and college programs to explore potential careers
What You’ll Do
From 9th grade upward, enroll in A-G approved courses to start preparing for your career in the agriculture industry. Classes include:
- CTE Concentrator - Urban Sustainable Agriculture & Earth Science (Year 1 )
- CTE Capstone - Urban Sustainable Agriculture: Farm Management, Agricultural Economics, and Entrepreneurship (Year 2)
Who You Can Be
Kickstart your career path with top-tier academic instruction and industry-leader insights. The Agriculture Business Pathway prepares you for potential careers such as:
- Organic Farmer
- Crop Consultant
- Agricultural and Food Science Technician
- Farm Manager
- Produce Sales and Distribution
- Agricultural Engineer
- Floral Designer
- Landscape Designer
Industry Average Wages: $49,900-$112,000
Projected Industry Growth: 1-10%
What You Need to Know
VUSD’s Agriculture Business Pathway offers students (9th grade and up) a fast-track to college courses in agriculture business and entry-level careers in agriculture, with a particular focus on the urban sustainable agriculture and agriculture business management. This rich, rewarding pathway is based at Ventura High School and consists of two sequenced year-long courses, a concentrator followed by a capstone. Through this program and its extensive connections, students will enjoy the opportunity to get an up-close, hands-on look at standout local businesses.
Students can grow their leadership skills and are empowered to become leaders in agriculture business by participating in the Career Technical Student Organization called Future Farmers of America (FFA).
Once you have gained the skills and knowledge in this pathway, there are many options for your next steps after high school - some you can even begin pursuing before you graduate!
1 Year
Agriculture Business Certificate - Ventura College
2 Year
Associate in Science in Agriculture Business for Transfer - Ventura College
4 Year
Bachelor of Science in Agricultural Business - Cal Poly San Luis Obispo
Bachelor of Science in Sustainable Agriculture and Food Systems - University of California, Davis