110 Opportunities in Agricultural Economics and Business (1) Overview of current issues and career opportunities for majors and non-majors.
201 Economics of the Global Food and Fiber System (4) Introduction to microeconomic and macroeconomic principles and their application to the global food and fiber system. Specific topics include consumer and producer behavior, market equilibrium, monetary and fiscal policy, and international trade.
212 The Agribusiness Firm (3) Introduction to agribusiness firm characteristics and decision-making. Overview of economic principles and the basic functions of management – planning, organizing, controlling, and directing. Specific topics include firm structure, forecasting, marketing and selling, budgeting, break-even analysis, use of financial statements, capital investment, supervision, staffing, and evaluation.
310 The Agricultural Employment Process (1) Career planning, job markets in the agricultural industry, and techniques to obtain employment, including recruitment/placement services, resume construction, personal interviewing, and job-offer evaluation/analysis.
315 Agricultural and Environmental Law (3) Survey of legal topics related to agriculture and the natural environment. Topics include introduction to legal system, real property, civil liabilities, contracts, commercial transactions, environmental and natural resource regulation, farm and business organization, estate planning, and effective utilization of legal counsel.
Registration Restriction(s): Minimum student level – junior.
320 Agricultural Microeconomics (3) Application of microeconomics to agriculture. Production, consumption, firm behavior, and efficiency in the food and fiber industries.
(RE) Prerequisite(s): 212 and Economics 201.
Registration Restriction(s): Minimum student level – junior.
324 Quantitative Methods in Agricultural Economics (3) Quantitative analytical tools used in economics and business. Simple and multiple linear regression techniques applied to economic data. Analysis of cross-section and time series data. Optimization techniques applied to economic and business decisions.
(RE) Prerequisite(s): Statistics 201.
(RE) Corequisite(s): 320.
342 Farm Business Management I (3) Principles and procedures for determining most profitable business organizations and systems of operation; attention to traditional and nontraditional agricultural enterprises and businesses; nature of managerial processes; business records and their uses; budgeting; acquisition and management of capital, land, labor and machinery; farm business planning.
(RE) Prerequisite(s): 212 and Accounting 200.
Recommended Background: Introductory economics and microcomputer competence.
350 The Food and Agricultural Marketing System (3) Survey of U.S. food and fiber marketing system; marketing functions; industry structure; market channels; marketing options of farmers; basic analysis of marketing problems.
(RE) Prerequisite(s): 212 and Economics 201.
355 Agribusiness Marketing and Professional Selling (3) Role of marketing in the agribusiness organization, planning marketing efforts, and the strategic selling process. Topics include identification of market opportunities, targeting, marketing mix, and personal selling in agribusiness.
(RE) Prerequisite(s): 212 and Economics 201.
356 Marketing Team Participation (1-2) Participation in the development of a total marketing plan for a product sold to or by farmers. Includes product identification; market research; and development of an action plan, including an extensive promotional plan, financial analysis, and evaluation. Requires preparation of final plan for presentation in written, oral, and visual formats. Plan presented in national competition during the National AgriMarketing Conference.
Repeatability: May be repeated. Maximum 6 hours.
Registration Permission: Consent of instructor.
360 Rural Economic Development (3) Use of economic principles and analytical concepts in understanding the theory and process of rural economic development at the regional and subregional levels. Integrating historical and current information, students will explore the impetus of efficiency and equity as driving forces behind public sector and private sector initiatives to induce, manage and forecast development.
(RE) Prerequisite(s): Economics 201.
410 Seminar in Agricultural Economics and Business (1) Practice of critical thinking, ethical behavior, teamwork, and conflict resolution within the content of agribusiness decision-making. Analysis of contemporary issues in the field of agricultural economics.
Registration Restriction(s): Agricultural economics and business major; minimum student level – senior.
412 Agricultural Finance (3) Macro-finance, financial objectives, acquisition of debt and equity funds, capital investments, capital allocation, debt repayment, credit analysis, borrower and lender loan application analysis, insurance strategies, computer applications, kinds and sources of agricultural credit, and financial intermediation.
(RE) Prerequisite(s): 212 and Accounting 200.
Recommended Background: Introductory economics and microcomputer competence.
420 International Agricultural Trade and Marketing (3) Introduction to real and monetary aspects of international trade effect on agricultural commodity flows; partial equilibrium analysis of international trade in agricultural products; institutional aspects of international marketing of agricultural products.
(RE) Prerequisite(s): 320.
430 Food and Agricultural Policy (3) Values, goals, and policy process. Economic rationale and effects of policy. Historical development and current characteristics of commodity, credit, food, and trade policy.
(RE) Prerequisite(s): 320.
442 Agribusiness Management (3) Advanced concepts in developing business and marketing plans and in applied management principles, such as inventory control and pricing techniques. Discussion of management issues including going international, employee supervision, management succession and guerilla marketing. Teamwork emphasized in managing an agribusiness firm through game simulation. Written and oral presentation required.
(RE) Prerequisite(s): 212 and Accounting 200.
Recommended Background: Intermediate microeconomics.
444 Economics of Precision Farming Technologies (3) Economic rationale for precision farming technologies. Topics include technology adoption, production economics, development of decision-making tools, and the use of spatial data for management of crop production systems.
(RE) Prerequisite(s): Economics 201 and Agriculture and Natural Resources 290.
470 Natural Resource Economics (3) Economic analysis of natural resource use and conservation with emphasis on land, water and other renewable resources. Principles for benefit-cost analyses of natural resource projects and policies. Methods for valuation of non-market impacts associated with natural resource use. Tools for analysis of spatial-referenced data.
(RE) Prerequisite(s): Economics 201.
471 Applied Policy Analysis for Environmental and Natural Resource Management (3) Application of a policy analysis framework to conflicts and issues associated with natural resource use and related environmental quality impacts. Design of institutional changes to improve economic efficiency and equity, with emphasis on the potential applicability of market-type and incentive-based policy mechanisms.
(RE) Prerequisite(s): Economics 201.
492 Off-Campus Internship (1-3) Pre-approved supervised experience with firm or organization in the field.
Grading Restriction: Satisfactory/No Credit Grading only.
Repeatability: May be repeated. Maximum 6 hours.
(RE) Registration Restriction(s): Minimum student level – junior.
Registration Permission: Consent of instructor.
493 Independent Study (1-3) Directed individual or team research and report writing. Special courses in specific topics.
Repeatability: May be repeated. Maximum 6 hours.
Registration Restriction(s): Minimum student level – junior.
Registration Permission: Consent of instructor.