School of Economic Sciences

Agribusiness Management

Overview

Agribusiness management encompasses many aspects of the economy: agricultural producers, businesses that provide supplies and services to the producers (including cooperatives), businesses that add value to agricultural products, and those that facilitate the marketing of agricultural products to an ever-growing marketplace.

This economic sector has undergone enormous change and will continue to evolve into the future. According to a 1995 study by William Edmondson, "Measuring the Economywide Effect of the Farm Sector: Two Methods," published by USDA/ERS in July 1995, p. 35, the food and fiber sector, including input, production, processing, and distribution (the whole marketing channel) equals 13.5% of GDP and 17.3% of jobs in the U.S.

Research Projects

Links to some of the reseach projects in agribusiness are: asparagus research into solutions and feasibility to adopting new technological equipment, alternatives to Manual Sorting Using Selected Electronic Graders in Asparagus Fresh Packing Sheds: a Cost-Benefit Analysis, Simulation of Harvesting Asparagus: Mechanical vs. Manual, Asparagus Harvester Evaluation - El Centro Test March 2005 , the apple industry - Red Delicious and Gala - (measuring the Apple Industry from the 2002 Census of Agriculture, use Packouts to Evaluate Orchard Practices, 2004, Organic Apple Production in Washington State: an Input-Output Analysis, a Brief Look at the Washington Apple Industry: Past and Present), Establishment and Production Costs for Washington Concord Grapes, Feb. 2004, Marketing Washington Wines at the Wholesale Level, XB1015E, the prospects for an electrical generating & transmission cooperative fueled by straw produced in Eastern Washington, and options in financing agribusiness cooperatives:research findings and conclusions. Many other projects exist and it is our intention to add more informaiton as it becomes available.

Careers

Careers in Agribusiness are varied: from farming or ranching to commodity broker, food broker, loan officer, marketing researcher/specialist, product analyst, purchasing agent, statistician, and wholesaler. Today an agribusiness manager is concerned with environmental issues, industrialization, research, foreign markets, and econometrics. This is a field for top-notch, market-aware individuals who enjoy a challenge.

Academics

A student in agribusiness will learn to manage companies which process, market, and merchandise agricultural products to consumers. Explore the business concepts, economic principles, and management tools necessary to operate these companies successfully. Knowledge and skills in management, marketing, and finance are developed with emphasis on the specialized requirements of the agribusiness sector.

Courses leading to a degree in agribusiness include accounting, agribusiness management, agricultural marketing, price analysis, finance, farm and ranch management, and quantitative analysis tools, along with courses in production agriculture.

The intention of this web site is to offer educational material of interest and value to those of you who are actively involved or are interested in Agribusiness Management. 

Collage of Agribusinesses 

 

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