It's the Same in other Professions
About 90% of graduates coming into agricultural science are not off farms - which about reflects the rural:city population anyway.
Techically skilled - yes, but they actually know little about 'agriculture' Not surprisingly, they make some incredibly dumb blunders. The learning process has to go back some time, and from a professional consulting point of view, I find them unemployable. My professional indemnity insurance wouldn't cover the sorts of basic errors that seem to be now standard for the industry.
Farmers have become inured to this, and now tend to use several sources of advice, especially for the critical decisions.
So far, I have never met an aggie who isn't off the land, because if you don't have a background in agriculture, sooner, rather than later, you'll spray the wrong crop, or worse. You don't need a degree to be an aggie - it wouldn't be a hinderance - but a sound knowledge of farming is worth sooo much more than a piece of paper.
It's interesting to note that mustering pilots are just not acceptable without some 'animal' handling experience - from ground level.
Agree with everything said previously. The only good thing about it all is that these 'robots' won't be allowed out into GA!
Whew!