A popular fertilizer tool in agriculture and home gardening may not be what it claims to be according to the Oregon Department of Agriculture’s Fertilizer Program. For the past three years, ODA sampled products claiming to have these living organisms– whether they were found in bags of potting soil purchased at a garden center, or from a container at a commercial fertilizer dealer and found that out of 82 products claiming to contain beneficial bacteria or fungi, only 12 complied. In one case one-liter of retail fertilizer that claimed to have both fungi and bacteria sold for $87.50, yet testing did not indicate the presence any of the microbes.

According to Colorado State University’s Agricultural Business online program there is not a better time to earn a degree in agriculture citing USDA projections that: More than 57,000 new jobs will open in the agriculture, food, and natural resource sectors each year for the next five years. Because there aren't enough people earning degrees in these fields, there will be 2 open jobs for every qualified graduate.

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