AfTEr high sChOOL
AfTeR hiGh school,
students should pursue
additional education
in Agriculture, food &
natural Resources.
Degrees of
W
ine making is a $200 million
industry in Texas. To become part of
Success
the industry, students can pursue a
two-year associate’s degree in viticulture and
enology—also known as grape growing and
wine making—from one of the few degree
programs in the country specializing in this Agricultural Technicians the examination to become registered
area. Grayson County Community College An example of a popular two-year degree veterinary technicians (RVTs). Cedar
in Denison teaches winery operations, program (with a one-year certificate option) Valley has an agreement with the
management, production, and marketing— is the John Deere agricultural technician University of North Texas that allows
in short, everything students need to know program at Navarro College in Corsicana, its vet tech students to apply all of their
to turn grapes into gold. which teaches students every aspect of credits toward a bachelor’s degree in
servicing John Deere equipment. applied technology and performance
Postsecondary Options “There’s a tremendous demand for improvement.
Grayson’s program is just one of the technicians in this area,” notes John ■ Western Texas College in Snyder offers
interesting options for graduates in Dawley, department chair and instructor a golf course and landscape technology
Agriculture, Food & Natural Resources. with the Agricultural Technology program program that will allow graduates to
Students can go immediately into the at Navarro. “Most of the students will begin their careers as assistant golf
workforce, or can attend one-year certificate graduate with job offers from a John Deere course superintendents or as irrigation or
programs, two-year associate’s degree dealership.” pesticide technicians. Associate’s degree
programs like Grayson’s, or four-year Here are just a few other examples of graduates can find jobs in the landscape
bachelor’s degree programs. The choice is community colleges with two-year programs and irrigation industry, in parks and
determined by how much education and (many with one-year certificate options in recreation, or in sales of horticultural
training a particular field of interest requires. the same subjects): products or turf and landscape
“There are probably 40 community ■ Texas State Technical College in Waco equipment.
colleges in Texas that offer programs in offers a dozen programs in diesel
agriculture and life sciences,” notes Joe equipment technology. Those who go to
Townsend, associate dean in the College of the college’s Texas State Marine Education
Agriculture and Life Sciences at Texas A&M Center in Palacios can get a marine
University. Students can turn many of these specialization.
two-year degrees into four-year programs, ■ Cedar Valley College in Lancaster offers
he adds, taking their education to the next an accredited veterinary technology
level. program. Graduates are eligible to take
THe 2005 u.s. census of agrIculTure recorded
229,000 farms In Texas
and a sTaTewIde neT farm Income of $6,295,953,000.
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