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The differences between agronomists and farmers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, an agronomist has an average salary of $51,288, which is higher than the $30,845 average annual salary of a farmer.
The top three skills for an agronomist include harvest, field testing and technical support. The most important skills for a farmer are beef cattle, farm work, and farm machinery.
| Agronomist | Farmer | |
| Yearly salary | $51,288 | $30,845 |
| Hourly rate | $24.66 | $14.83 |
| Growth rate | 8% | -3% |
| Number of jobs | 208 | 500 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 5 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 69% | Bachelor's Degree, 40% |
| Average age | 40 | 48 |
| Years of experience | 2 | - |
Agronomists are professionals who are experts in finding ways to maximize crop production from a given acreage of soil. These agronomists must maintain a deep understanding of soil productivity principles by performing experiments to determine plant nutrients and soil health. They must collaborate with farmers and crop researchers to assess the crop production of the farm and conduct a detailed analysis of crop data. Agronomists must also develop methods to protect crops from diseases, weeds, pests, and harsh climate change.
A farmer, also known as an agriculturer, is a person deeply involved in agriculture, raises living organisms for food, produces organic matter, or unprocessed materials for human and animal consumption. There are several types of farmers from those who raise animals, grow crops, and other livestock. At most, due to the advanced economy, most of them are farm owners, but there are still some who work as laborers on land owned by others. Besides having a general knowledge of planting, breeding, and harvesting, they should also need to be familiar with mechanics in order to help them keep their equipment working and running.
Agronomists and farmers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Agronomist | Farmer | |
| Average salary | $51,288 | $30,845 |
| Salary range | Between $25,000 And $104,000 | Between $13,000 And $71,000 |
| Highest paying City | Wilmington, DE | Kearny, NJ |
| Highest paying state | Connecticut | New Jersey |
| Best paying company | Bayer | L'Oréal |
| Best paying industry | Government | Manufacturing |
There are a few differences between an agronomist and a farmer in terms of educational background:
| Agronomist | Farmer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 69% | Bachelor's Degree, 40% |
| Most common major | Plant Sciences | Business |
| Most common college | Cornell University | - |
Here are the differences between agronomists' and farmers' demographics:
| Agronomist | Farmer | |
| Average age | 40 | 48 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 83.6% Female, 16.4% | Male, 73.6% Female, 26.4% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 4.3% Unknown, 2.8% Hispanic or Latino, 9.5% Asian, 9.3% White, 73.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% | Black or African American, 1.1% Unknown, 2.9% Hispanic or Latino, 7.6% Asian, 1.5% White, 86.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6% |
| LGBT Percentage | 19% | 4% |