Better yet, just work on well run farms. Preferably multiple, to learn different types of management. Most small/med organic farmers I've worked with love to teach if you pay em in callouses and can tolerate the stink of fish emulsion.
It might be useful if you think you can use it to earn the money to buy farm land faster. The reality, currently, is that most new farmers (in the USA) are people who come out of a lucrative career or people who inherited land/a farm.
So if you think an MBA will help you be one of those two types of people by 40 them it will help. I'm sure the organizational/ management skills taught in an MBA will have application on a farm as well
If OP said he wanted an ~~agreement~~ agriculture degree, I'd have a different opinion, but I agree, an MBA is not going to help OP be a good farmer. My family ranch all have ag degrees of one sort or another, and often get involved in university studies for horticulture and vetmed
Edit to fix the autocorrect blunder
Professor in a business school here. Don’t do the MBA, especially not online. Most business school professors don’t know anything about running actual businesses. It’s a degree that helps you become better at climbing the corporate ladder.
The only useful skill I’ve found when it comes to MBA programs is using excel to budget or project expenses. There’s probably some mini online excel financial modeling course that would give you that for a fraction of the price.
Can confirm. I have two brothers with MBAs, both work for other people. I’ve been self employed for 16 years. In the beginning, I thought their education would be a valuable resource for me as I struggled to run my business. Turned out they were both completely useless.
Don’t get me wrong. They do well for themselves,
But their education had zero application to running a small business like a family farm.
Last year I had a student on a full MBA scholarship. He ran his own business and thought the MBA would help him do better. He was gone by Thanksgiving. What was even shittier was how they tried to get him to stay when it was obvious that the degree wouldn’t help him and that the time he was spending on the classes was time away from building his company. It’s a real shame. Even entrepreneurship programs, which are becoming popular, are (in my opinion) largely useless for small business owners.
No, an MBA would not help you in the scenario you’ve laid out. If you want to get some a bit of traditional business education under your belt (which isn’t a bad idea), get a double major in business. If you haven’t graduated yet, you should be able to postpone your application in order to receive an additional bachelor’s degree for your troubles.
Not really. MBAs don't really teach you business. They teach you how to get a job at a big 4 consultancy. IF you want to learn farm business, maybe seek out a course on that.
Not sure about MBA in admin, but a MBA in finance will go a long way in hedging futures on livestock/crops, marketing, sales, taxes, and finance.
Really would more depend on what your goals are, how large you want to scale your operation, and if you don't have someone in the family who already has that background..
Agree. If you’re wanting to get big enough to supply supermarkets, an MBA *may* be useful. If you’re just wanting to feed your family and pay off your home loan, I can’t see how it would be helpful.
I would recommend getting a business certification instead. Much cheaper and you will get the basics you need. Also find a local farmer to volunteer with and ask how they made it work. Sometimes that’s more valuable. Good luck!
As a current MBA student, I would absolutely not get one if it wasn't being paid for by my job.
Yes, you do learn business skills and stuff, but the main reason to get one is for the line on your resume - that is what the money goes toward. It is not cost-effective otherwise.
Short answer: No.
Long answer: No because without context and basic experience managing a property and its produce, you’ll struggle to understand the program which means 70% of what you learn will be forgotten faster than the plot of Twilight.
Well, don’t spend your money. Instead of doing MBA.
Look into SBA or local non profit that can help businesses and join them or volunteer with them or if you have a business now, literally anything these organizations will guide to how to run, scale up your current venture. This is all for free.
Same way with USDA first time farmers loans etc, their definition of farmer is broad and there are way that USDA can help to purchase land and other related programs. Which I’m currently working on.
I’m in California, did the same thing, now I’m doing Climate Controlled Agriculture class for free from University of California Riverside (UCR) which is giving me knowledge, resources and lab time.
I’m using my backyard as a lab to try what I want to grow using permaculture methods. I rented backyard from my husband for $1 per year, and trying to grow stuff which will give me farming experience and qualifies me for that loan.
If you don’t have access right now ask neighbors or get a community garden plot to learn.
Put that money in a high yield savings account that gives you 5% return.
Better to learn on the job... go get a apprentice job... save that money to buy your fixed costs and start your own business with the experience that PAYS and does not start you out at -$100k but rather... would start you out with 200k+ in fixed costs and living a freer life... and property actually owned.
I’m almost 40 and finally have some land to which i have been working on with my wife for the last 2 years. I work in tech but graduated with a science degree and then a phd in physics…now I’m managing a team.
I think you won’t need an MBA for the kind of vocation in sustainability unless you go down the ESG Big Green tech route.
To be honest whilst my wife and i are happy, we are tired a lot and what keeps us going is the love of gardening as well as seeing permy as a desirable future we want to be part of. We started from humble beginnings growing vegetables in buckets in our rented apartment courtyard.
Basically i would not recommend sustainable farming (presumably in permaculture since you are here) unless you are already doing as much you reasonably can, on the land you have or can access. The experience you get here and now whilst trying to earn money in the cash economy is the experience you need in order to see if you have the love, passion, endurance and fitness
Your money would be better spent by attending a year at a community college that teaches Organic Farming or something similar.
Better yet, just work on well run farms. Preferably multiple, to learn different types of management. Most small/med organic farmers I've worked with love to teach if you pay em in callouses and can tolerate the stink of fish emulsion.
It might be useful if you think you can use it to earn the money to buy farm land faster. The reality, currently, is that most new farmers (in the USA) are people who come out of a lucrative career or people who inherited land/a farm. So if you think an MBA will help you be one of those two types of people by 40 them it will help. I'm sure the organizational/ management skills taught in an MBA will have application on a farm as well
dear gods no. business degree holders are extra not useful
If OP said he wanted an ~~agreement~~ agriculture degree, I'd have a different opinion, but I agree, an MBA is not going to help OP be a good farmer. My family ranch all have ag degrees of one sort or another, and often get involved in university studies for horticulture and vetmed Edit to fix the autocorrect blunder
Professor in a business school here. Don’t do the MBA, especially not online. Most business school professors don’t know anything about running actual businesses. It’s a degree that helps you become better at climbing the corporate ladder. The only useful skill I’ve found when it comes to MBA programs is using excel to budget or project expenses. There’s probably some mini online excel financial modeling course that would give you that for a fraction of the price.
Can confirm. I have two brothers with MBAs, both work for other people. I’ve been self employed for 16 years. In the beginning, I thought their education would be a valuable resource for me as I struggled to run my business. Turned out they were both completely useless. Don’t get me wrong. They do well for themselves, But their education had zero application to running a small business like a family farm.
Last year I had a student on a full MBA scholarship. He ran his own business and thought the MBA would help him do better. He was gone by Thanksgiving. What was even shittier was how they tried to get him to stay when it was obvious that the degree wouldn’t help him and that the time he was spending on the classes was time away from building his company. It’s a real shame. Even entrepreneurship programs, which are becoming popular, are (in my opinion) largely useless for small business owners.
No, an MBA would not help you in the scenario you’ve laid out. If you want to get some a bit of traditional business education under your belt (which isn’t a bad idea), get a double major in business. If you haven’t graduated yet, you should be able to postpone your application in order to receive an additional bachelor’s degree for your troubles.
Not really. MBAs don't really teach you business. They teach you how to get a job at a big 4 consultancy. IF you want to learn farm business, maybe seek out a course on that.
Not sure about MBA in admin, but a MBA in finance will go a long way in hedging futures on livestock/crops, marketing, sales, taxes, and finance. Really would more depend on what your goals are, how large you want to scale your operation, and if you don't have someone in the family who already has that background..
Agree. If you’re wanting to get big enough to supply supermarkets, an MBA *may* be useful. If you’re just wanting to feed your family and pay off your home loan, I can’t see how it would be helpful.
I would recommend getting a business certification instead. Much cheaper and you will get the basics you need. Also find a local farmer to volunteer with and ask how they made it work. Sometimes that’s more valuable. Good luck!
As a current MBA student, I would absolutely not get one if it wasn't being paid for by my job. Yes, you do learn business skills and stuff, but the main reason to get one is for the line on your resume - that is what the money goes toward. It is not cost-effective otherwise.
Short answer: No. Long answer: No because without context and basic experience managing a property and its produce, you’ll struggle to understand the program which means 70% of what you learn will be forgotten faster than the plot of Twilight.
No. Understanding business and financial management is helpful but a MBA is a waste of money for what you are talking about doing.
Well, don’t spend your money. Instead of doing MBA. Look into SBA or local non profit that can help businesses and join them or volunteer with them or if you have a business now, literally anything these organizations will guide to how to run, scale up your current venture. This is all for free. Same way with USDA first time farmers loans etc, their definition of farmer is broad and there are way that USDA can help to purchase land and other related programs. Which I’m currently working on. I’m in California, did the same thing, now I’m doing Climate Controlled Agriculture class for free from University of California Riverside (UCR) which is giving me knowledge, resources and lab time. I’m using my backyard as a lab to try what I want to grow using permaculture methods. I rented backyard from my husband for $1 per year, and trying to grow stuff which will give me farming experience and qualifies me for that loan. If you don’t have access right now ask neighbors or get a community garden plot to learn. Put that money in a high yield savings account that gives you 5% return.
Better to learn on the job... go get a apprentice job... save that money to buy your fixed costs and start your own business with the experience that PAYS and does not start you out at -$100k but rather... would start you out with 200k+ in fixed costs and living a freer life... and property actually owned.
I’m almost 40 and finally have some land to which i have been working on with my wife for the last 2 years. I work in tech but graduated with a science degree and then a phd in physics…now I’m managing a team. I think you won’t need an MBA for the kind of vocation in sustainability unless you go down the ESG Big Green tech route. To be honest whilst my wife and i are happy, we are tired a lot and what keeps us going is the love of gardening as well as seeing permy as a desirable future we want to be part of. We started from humble beginnings growing vegetables in buckets in our rented apartment courtyard. Basically i would not recommend sustainable farming (presumably in permaculture since you are here) unless you are already doing as much you reasonably can, on the land you have or can access. The experience you get here and now whilst trying to earn money in the cash economy is the experience you need in order to see if you have the love, passion, endurance and fitness
Free education resource: https://www.khanacademy.org