Agricultural Business

Overview

careers

  • Personal Banker

  • Accounting Clerk

  • Farmer / Rancher

  • Crop Scout

  • Operations Specialist

Job Placement Rate ⓘ
0 %
Average Salary ⓘ
$ 0

The business of agriculture is varied and complex.  Mitchell Tech’s highly qualified instructional staff and reputable program will prepare graduates for a variety of ag business careers.
 
Beginning with basics like farm accounting and commodity marketing, students will also be exposed to fundamentals of animal science and agronomy in order to learn how those areas relate to the financial bottom line.
 
During the second year, students will take courses in management, sales and service, ag law, finance, insurance and e-commerce.  A variety of guest speakers, case studies, and hands-on activities will reinforce concepts and prepare students for many occupational options.
 
Graduates will find a wide variety of employment opportunities in areas like management, sales, claims processing, analysis, grain management, lending, marketing or many other areas.

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Curriculum

Award: AAS Degree

Semesters
0
First Semester
AGT101Animal Science I3 credits
AGT102Weeds & Herbicides3 credits
AGT104Ag Chemicals2 credits
AGT120Soil Science I3 credits
AGT211Farm Accounting3 credits
TRAN100Industrial Transportation CDL1 credit
CIS105Introduction to Computers3 credits
SSS100Student Success1 credit
Total Semester Hours19 credits
Second Semester
AGT110Crop Science I3 credits
AGT112Fertilizers3 credits
AGT160Commodity Marketing I3 credits
AGT190Internship I6 credits
AGT214Ag Law3 credits
CPR100First Aid, CPR AED0.5 credits
Total Semester Hours18.5 credits
Third Semester
AGT103Machinery Management2 credits
AGT260Advanced Commodity Marketing3 credits
AGT261Ag Sales & Service3 credits
 
AGT291Land Management1 credit
OR
AGT295Beef Management1 credit
 
Communications Elective3 credits
Math Elective3 credits
General Education Elective3 credits
Total Semester Hours19 credits
Fourth Semester
AGT215Ag Finances3 credits
AGT218Principles of Ag Bus, Management3 credits
AGT263Fundamentals of Insurance2 credits
AGT290Internship II6 credits
BUS122E-Commerce3 credits
General Education Elective3 credits
Total Semester Hours20 credits

Requirements

ADMISSION REQUIREMENTS

Any student who enrolls in Commercial Driver training must obtain a South Dakota driver’s license in order to complete the CDL training course.  A Class A CDL is a graduation requirement for this program. 

Mitchell Tech recommends that applicants to the Agronomy program obtain a physical examination for their safety and protection.  

Please Note:

  • Students enrolled must possess a Class A CDL license before the end of the 10th day of their first semester of enrollment or be registered for TRAN 100 during their first semester.
  • Students must pass the Commercial Applicator’s License exam in order to graduate.

Some additional requirements (including, but not limited to, drug screening and immunizations) may have to be met before entrance to certain clinical sites. 

COMPUTER REQUIREMENTS

This program requires a laptop computer so that you can effectively integrate computing skills with your technical education. Many resources that instructors assign are online or require specialty software. To address these needs, Mitchell Tech requires that students entering this program purchase their laptops from Mitchell Tech. The cost for an Mitchell Tech laptop averages about $1,000 for this program. Please be aware that our machines come fully loaded with the software required for this program. 

Whether it’s Microsoft Office, or a specialty software for a technical program, your needs will be met by your Mitchell Tech laptop.  And our laptops are serviced for free by our Technology office. You will not be able to bring a laptop from home into an Mitchell Tech laptop program as we cannot provide support services for every make and model of laptop. Please consider this carefully before making any laptop purchase and check with the Admissions office for more details.

Outcomes

At the completion of the program, graduates will be able to:
  • Apply problem-solving skills to various agriculture situations
  • Apply the principles of human resource management to different situations in the ag business industry
  • Analyze data and draw appropriate statistical conclusions
  • Describe marketing’s strategic role in an agribusiness organization and design a marketing plan for a product
  • Analyze current agriculture events and issues and the effect they have on the future of agriculture
  • Solve real-world problems by identifying a problem and its scope, evaluating resources to address the problem, formulating alternative solutions, and selecting the solution(s) most consistent with the stated objective
Annual Program Review

Check out the 2023-24 Annual Program Review for information on how faculty ensure the quality and effectiveness of the program.

Faculty

Ag Business Instructor

Cost

Program Tuition & Fees ⓘ
$ 4000

Other Required Costs

Laptop/Software $1,150
CDL $1,000
Books / Tools (estimated) $1,685

Scholarships

$750

1 AVAIL.

SD Municipal Electric Association Energy Production & Transmission Scholarship

SD Municipal Electric Association

Powerline Construction & Maintenance
Must be a resident of the SD Municipal Electric Association service area and enrolled in the Powerline Construction & Maintenance program

$500

2 AVAIL.

Central Electric Cooperative Scholarship

Central Electric Cooperative

Electrical Utilities & Substation
Power Line Construction & Maintenance
Electrical Construction & Maintenance
Heating & Cooling
Agricultural Business
Agronomy
Applicant must be a full-time student in the Electrical Utilities & Substation, Power Line Construction & Maintenance, Electrical Construction & Maintenance, Heating & Cooling, Agricultural Business or Agronomy program at Mitchell Technical College Applicant must maintain a 2.5 GPA Student must be a member or dependent of a member of Central Electric Cooperative based in Mitchell, SD Applicant must complete the MTC Online application to be eligible to receive this scholarship. Student must provide member name on account and Central Electric will verify membership status before recipient is announced

$1000

2 AVAIL.

South Dakota Wheat Commission

South Dakota Wheat Commission

The South Dakota Wheat Commission began offering scholarships for Culinary Academy of South Dakota, Animal Science, Ag Business, Agronomy, Precision Technology, and SD Center for Farm and Ranch Management program students in 2014. The Commission has been an active supporter of several Mitchell Technical College programs for several years and has provided financial support for equipment and program development.
Agricultural Business
Agronomy
Animal Science
Culinary Academy of South Dakota
Precision Ag Technology
Applicants must be currently enrolled as first year full-time students in the Culinary Academy of South Dakota or Agronomy programs, with second choice being Ag Business, Animal Science or Precision Technology Applicants must complete the MTC current student online application during the open enrollment period as instructed to be eligible for this scholarship Applicant must maintain a GPA of 2.5 or higher Award considerations include academic performance, financial need, responses to essay questions and recommendations from instructors. Ag award preference would be to someone who comes from or has plans to go into production agriculture, specifically wheat production Culinary Academy of South Dakota award preference would be students interested in the baking side of the program

$1500

1 AVAIL.

South Dakota Crop Improvement Association Scholarship

The scholarship will be awarded to a first year student enrolled in the Precision Technology, Ag Business, Animal Science or Agronomy programs and applied to the recipient’s account the following Fall semester.
Agricultural Business
Agronomy
Animal Science
Precision Ag Technology
Applicant must be currently enrolled as a first year full-time student in the Precision, Ag Business, Animal Science and Agronomy programs at MTC. Applicant must complete the MTC online application during the open application period as instructed to be eligible for this scholarship 2.0 GPA

$1000

1 AVAIL.

South Dakota Assoc. of Cooperatives Scholarship

The scholarship was established in 2013.
Accounting
Agricultural Business
Agronomy
Animal Science
Business Management
Diesel Power – Ag Power Technology
Electrical Construction & Maintenance
Electrical Utilities & Substation Technology
Power Line Construction & Maintenance
Wi-Fi & Broadband Technologies
Wind Turbine Technology
Applicant must be an accepted full-time student enrolled at MTC in one of the programs mentioned Applicant must complete the MTC scholarship application during the open application period as instructed to be eligible for this scholarship First priority will be given to students with ties to a SDAC member cooperative Essay responses will be a large part of the recipient decision

$1000

1 AVAIL.

Roger Carlson “Tough Old Bird” Endowed Scholarship

Family & Friends of Roger Carlson

The endowment was established in 2013 by the family and friends of longtime Mithell Tech Ag instructor Roger Carlson. Carlson began his career at Mitchell Tech in August, 1990, and was a valued member of the Ag Technology department until May, 2011, when health problems forced his retirement. Carlson passed away on August 27, 2012 from complications related to leukemia. The endowment began providing scholarships in the 2013-14 school year to a qualifying student in the Ag Technology, Architecture Design and Building Construction or Farm Power Technology programs. The scholarship will be awarded in January each year and applied to the recipient’s account the following Fall semester.
Agricultural Business
Agronomy
Animal Science
Architectural Design and Building Construction
Diesel Power – Ag Power Technology
Applicant must be an first year full-time student enrolled at MTC in the Ag Business, Animal Science, Agronomy, Architecture Design and Building Construction, or Diesel Power Technology program Applicant must maintain a GPA of 2.5 or higher Applicant must complete the MTC scholarship application during the open application period as instructed to be eligible for this scholarship

Contact Admissions

For information about any of our programs, application, or any of our other student services please contact us:

Admissions Office
Mitchell Technical College
1800 E. Spruce St.
Mitchell, SD 57301

800.684.1969
605.995.3025
fax: 605.995.3067
[email protected]

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