Agribusiness Management

The role of agricultural business in the economy. Introductory economic and business principles and their application to the solution of agricultural problems.

This course provides the science of agricultural animals including cattle, swine, horses, goats, sheep, poultry and dairy. Anatomy and physiology of each animal species is studied extensively as well as growth and development from birth to adulthood. The course will also emphasize how to successfully manage livestock animals so that sound decision-making skills may be made with each animal systems.
 

This course provides students with an overview of marketing strategies and techniques in the agricultural sector. Students will learn how agricultural products move from production to market. Key topics include market research, consumer behavior, pricing, distribution, and promotion within agribusiness. The course also emphasizes essential sales skills such as relationship-building and negotiation.

This course provides students with the tools and knowledge to effectively manage and financially oversee farming operations. Students will apply business management principles to real-world scenarios, focusing on budgeting, financial analysis, and decision-making processes that are essential for farm operators and managers. 

An introduction to the principles of economics including production principles; production costs, supply and revenue; profit maximization; consumption and demand; price elasticity; market price determination; and competitive versus noncompetitive market models These principles are applied to agriculture and the role of agriculture in the United States and world economies. Other topics include a survey of the world food situation; natural, human and capital resources; commodity product marketing; and agricultural problems and policies. (See EC 331.)

Economic theory and methods are used to analyze agricultural production decisions and their relationship to futures and options markets. In this course, students will learn about the institutional structure of these markets, price formation, and the strategic use of financial instruments by producers and agribusinesses. U.S. and international markets will be explored, and students will gain practical insights into how commodities trading impacts agricultural economics.

A practical application of theoretical skills in actual job-related situations May be repeated for a maximum of 6 hours. Open to sophomore junior and senior majors.

This course will serve as the capstone course for all senior-level students majoring in Agribusiness Management. In addition, a strong emphasis will be placed on undergraduate research. Specifically, students will be asked to research relevant agribusiness topics from either the social scientific or humanistic perspectives during the semester and formally present their scholarly findings. As part of the capstone experience in this course, students will be asked to synthesize their previous coursework and critically reflect on their experiences in the Agribusiness Management program.