Can Agronomists Save the World?
In farming circles, the more cynical used to think of agronomists as the annoying boffins who knew nothing about the real world, spouting off about how farmers could do better. Thankfully, times have changed and as farmers have become even more commercially astute, the word of the agronomist is now heavily relied upon to generate more revenue and mitigate risk.
The role of the modern agronomist can encompass:
Plant breeding - increasing yields and nutritional value of crops
Biotechnology - extending crop lives and their usefulness
Soil science and soil conservation - researching sustainable environments
Agroecology - managing farms effectively
Environmental modelling - using data to predict the world around us
In each of these disciplines, agronomists have moved beyond research and gone on to implement innovative farming practices such as precision agriculture, modern crop management and even crop monitoring apps.
The knowledge of agronomists has benefitted massively from the sharing of information via the internet and the Big Data that digital systems produce. This has increased their accuracy and the specificity of their advice to farmers across the planet. The job of an agronomist has also changed to become a role with a more global outlook too. Where they perhaps used to focus on niche, regional problems, they now also contribute to wider initiatives such as sustainable farming and global climate change research.
An agronomist's job is filled with unpleasant problems to overcome. They study fungi, pests, soil erosion and weeds, amongst other things, and try to find ways to overcome them that will not cause further harm. All the easy problems are solved - it’s now the hard, dirty, difficult ones that are left to figure out.
The role is a vitally important one though. As the impact of global population growth and climate change is felt and the environment adapts around us, it will be the agronomists who step up to the fore and will be able to give analytical, dependable advice that will maintain crop yields and keep people fed for years to come.
As the saying goes, not all heroes wear capes. At AgriRS, we think agronomists certainly fall into that category. Find the best agronomist jobs at https://www.agrirs.co.uk/
Agricultural Recruitment Specialists are the UK and Worldwide market leader in agricultural, farming, horticultural and food recruitment.
If you are looking for a new role, please send us your CV in complete confidence to info@agriRS.co.uk and one of our consultants will call you to discuss options.
Alternatively, if you are a client looking to grow your team, then please contact our highly successful team on 01905 345 155.
If you would like to find out more about Agricultural Recruitment Specialists Ltd, then please visit www.agriRS.co.uk
