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Abstract
This study examines the returns to agricultural majors compared to other majors
offered in four-year institutions. We find that, after accounting for the necessarily rural
location of those with college degrees in agriculture, monetary returns to education are
much closer to the median than naive rankings imply. As individuals acquire college
degrees in pursuit of monetary and non-monetary goals, earnings are generally an
imperfect measure of success for any degree, but they appear more so for those pursuing
degrees in agriculture. Agriculture degree recipients report giving less importance to
income when making a career choice than virtually any other major, with the exception
of teachers.