You are in the official 2004-2005 General Catalog
for California State University, Fresno.
Department of Agricultural Economics
COURSES
- Economic Principles (AGEC)
- Farm Management (AGEC)
- Agribusiness Management (AGEC)
- Financial Planning (AGEC)
- Agricultural Development (AGEC)
- Public Policy (AGEC)
- Product Marketing (AGEC)
- Decision Analysis (AGEC)
- Special Topics (AGEC)
- Agricultural Business (AGBS) --- Graduate Courses
- Agriculture (AGRI) --- In-Service Courses
Note: Active immunization against tetanus (available through Student
Health Services) is a prerequisite for registration in any laboratory course
in agriculture and for any student employment on the University Farm.
Note: Cost to the student of extended field trips will vary each
semester depending upon itinerary. The student should ask the course instructor.
Economic Principles (AGEC)
1. Introductory Agricultural Economics (3)
Prerequisite: G.E. Foundation A2. Microeconomic principles of resource allocation,
production, cost, and market price equilibrium with primary application
to farms and agribusinesses. Supply and demand in commodity pricing under
perfect and imperfect competition. Optimizing single variable input production
function; total/marginal approaches to profit maximizing output. G.E. Breadth
D3.
2. Agricultural Sector Analysis (3)
Domestic and international forces affecting industry profitability of farm
input suppliers, agricultural producers, commodity processors, food marketers;
government fiscal, monetary, trade policies interaction with agricultural
credit, price support, food subsidy programs; impact on agribusiness asset
values, debt accumulation, income levels.
5. Survey of Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness (3)
Not open to students with credit in any upper-division AGEC course. Orientation
to agricultural sector, institutions, and historic farm problems. Basic
economic concepts and business principles applied to management, marketing,
finance, and trade. Consumer demand and producer supply functions. Competitive
market price determination. Overview of resource, environmental, consumer,
and farming issues and government policies
100. Intermediate Agricultural Economics (3)
Prerequisites: AGEC 1; AGEC 78 or DS 71 or MATH 75. Microeconomic theory
of agricultural production in factor-product, factor-factor, product-product
decisions; production costs and economies of size; consumer choice theory;
price and output determination under imperfectly competitive markets; marginal
productivity theory and the derived demand for agribusiness inputs.
Farm Management (AGEC)
110N. Introductory Farm Management (3)
Prerequisites: AGEC 1, 31, and 76. Survey course for non-agricultural business
majors. Introduction to applied economics and farm business management topics:
farm accounting, financial statement analysis, management principles, computer
assisted decision aids, animal and crop enterprise budgeting, farm business
planning, tax management, investment analysis, agricultural finance. (2
lecture, 3 lab hours)
110. Farm Management (3)
Prerequisites: AGEC 31, 76, and 100. Production economics and management
techniques for analysis of efficient farm resource use, planning and organization;
analysis of budgeting and optimization techniques, and computer applications
for developing farm management plans. (2 lecture, 3 lab hours)
114. Advanced Farm Management (3)
Prerequisite: AGEC 110. Design, computerization, and analysis of profit
maximizing; cost minimizing and multiperiod linear programming models; risk
and uncertainty; data and information requirements for decision making;
optimizing the level and mix of crop livestock enterprises; development
of farm management plans.
117. Agricultural Labor-Management Relations (3)
Prerequisite: AGEC 1. Economic analysis of the farm labor market; labor
productivity, agricultural mechanization and farm employment; farm labor
laws and government regulations; agricultural labor relations, unionization,
and collective bargaining; farm personnel administration practices and supervisory
management principles.
Agribusiness Management (AG EC)
28. Introductory Agricultural Law (3)
Fundamentals of agricultural law including historical sources; legislative
laws and business ethics; administrative regulations, judicial decisions
affecting agriculture; express and implied contracts with remedies for their
breach in agricultural situations; real and personal property law plus secured
transactions in agriculture.
120. Agribusiness Management (3)
Prerequisite: AGEC 1. Organizational forms and management functions of agribusiness
firms; human resource management systems; management science principles
for optimizing plant location, equipment replacement, inventory control,
and sales volume; operations research techniques, including probability-based
network and decision models, for solving agribusiness problems.
122. Agricultural Cooperative Management (3)
Prerequisite: AGEC 120. Philosophical, historical, and legislative evolution
of U.S. agricultural cooperatives; uniqueness of cooperative organization,
planning, direction and control functions vis-a-vis standard corporations;
legal, financial, and tax considerations in managing input-supply and marketing
cooperatives; case studies and field trips to cooperatives.
124. Food and Fiber Industry Management (3)
Prerequisite: AGEC 1. Production management of farm input manufactures,
agricultural commodity processing, food/fiber product distribution; functional
approach to transformation/value-added operations including planning, organizing,
directing, coordinating, controlling; case applications to materials handling,
product development, food packaging, quality control, transportation logistics,
inventory management.
128. Advanced Agricultural Law (3)
Prerequisite: AGEC 28 or BA 18. Case applications of agricultural business
law; torts covering trespass, negligence, liability for farm livestock and
chemicals; surface and mineral property rights; water law; farm labor law;
agribusiness firm incorporation; agricultural cooperative regulation; state
and federal marketing orders; farm estate taxation.
Financial Planning (AGEC)
31. Farm Accounting (3)
Basic concepts and principles of financial accounting systems applied to
farm operations; mechanics of recording single and double entry transactions
under cash and accrual accounting methods; preparation and analysis of enterprise
records and financial statements to generate management information.
32. Agribusiness Managerial Accounting (3)
Prerequisite: AGEC 31 or ACCT 4A. Application and analysis of accounting
information for farm and agribusiness management; integration of economic,
and financial principles in preparing business plans; equipment cost control
and crop enterprise accounting methods; capital investment and profit performance;
introduction to computerized farm accounting systems. (2 lecture, 1 arranged)
130. Agricultural Finance (3)
Prerequisites: AGEC 2, 31, 76; 100 or instructor's permission. AGEC 32 recommended.
Analysis of farm financial statements; legal instruments of financial transactions;
institutional sources of farm credit; time value of money and capital budgeting
for agricultural investment; cost of debt and equity capital; risk management
strategies; insurance, tax, and farm estate planning.
131. Agricultural Capital Markets (3)
Prerequisites: AGEC 2, 31, 76, 100 or instructor's permission. AGEC 32 recommended.
Analysis of farm financial statements; legal instruments of financial transactions;
institutional sources of farm credit; time value of money and capital budgeting
for agricultural investment; cost of debt and equity capital; risk management
strategies; insurance, tax, and farm estate planning.
136. Farm and Ranch Appraisal (3)
Prerequisites: AGEC 1. AGEC 110 or 110N recommended. Principles of agricultural
appraisal; physical and economic factors affecting land values; estimation
of real estate value using income, cost, and market data approaches; case
studies and field problems involving the valuation of local farm and ranch
properties.
Agricultural Development (AG EC)
140. International Development and Agriculture (3)
Comparative development of low- and high-income countries; policies/programs
addressing inequality, poverty, malnutrition, disease, overpopulation, underemployment,
pollution, globalization; structural, institutional, technological change;
investment, trade, and aid strategies for growth; food production and distribution
efficiency; environmentally sustainable, culturally compatible, economically
viable agricultural systems.
Public Policy (AGEC)
150. Agricultural and Food Policy (3)
Prerequisite: AGEC 1. AGEC 2 recommended. Analysis of public policies affecting
the economics of U.S. and California agriculture; government programs influencing
agricultural production, commodity distribution, market prices, farm income;
environmental and natural resource issues; nutrition, food safety and biotechnology
concerns; food industry regulation; international agricultural trade.
153. Agricultural Trade (3)
Prerequisites: AGEC 2, 150. Comparative advantage, trade models, protectionist
barriers and balance of payments; world agricultural trade patterns and
international commodity agreements; domestic farm programs and foreign trade
policies; surplus food aid and concessionary sales overseas; trade liberalization
versus preferences issue and economic development.
155. Environmental and Natural Resource Economics (3)
Economic analysis of public policies governing land use, water management,
energy generation, mineral exploitation and forest administration; review
of population pressures and resource conservation; examination of externalities,
property rights issues, resource use planning, agricultural zoning, environmental
regulations, and reclamation law.
Product Marketing (AGEC)
64. Agricultural Sales and Promotion (3)
Principles and practices of selling agricultural products; merchandising
techniques and sales approaches; customer prospecting and service; promotional
programs, advertising campaigns, and public relations for agricultural industries
and organizations; multimedia utilization strategies; written/oral communication
abilities, and computer presentation skills development. (Formerly AGEC
166)
160. Agricultural Marketing Analysis (3)
Prerequisite: AGEC 100 or permission of instructor. Commodity transformation
and product flow through processing and distribution channels; market structure,
conduct and performance; marketing system efficiency and marketing bill
components; over supply, marketing orders, grading and standards, and price
stabilization; price forecasting, futures market trading, and risk management.
162. Commodity Futures Trading (3)
Prerequisite: AGEC 160 or permission of instructor. Study of commodity futures
and options markets; speculative trading and techniques of fundamental and
technical analyses; crop and livestock hedging strategies for commodity
procurement and marketing; integrating options and futures trading for risk
management; and development of futures trading plans.
163. Agricultural Export Marketing (3)
Prerequisite: AGEC 160 or permission of instructor. Determination of potential
overseas markets for U.S. agricultural products through export marketing
studies; foreign business environment and distribution channels; product
preparation and transportation abroad; cultural-specific promotional and
advertising programs; international sales agreements, financial transactions,
plus banking and shipping documentation.
164. Agribusiness Sales Management (3)
Prerequisite: AGEC 1. Marketing management strategies for stimulating business
and consumer demand for agricultural goods and services; food and fiber
merchandising using institutional, functional, value approaches; sales program
organization and staff development for effective communication of product
information and timely completion of transactions.
168. Agricultural Marketing Management Project (1-3; max total 3)
Prerequisites: AGEC 71, 160, 164 and permission of instructor. Marketing
management principles in preparing marketing plan for annual National Agri-Marketing
Association intercollegiate competition; strategic planning for product
development, sales projections, distribution channels, pricing tactics,
promotion/advertising, market share analysis; focus group, survey research,
oral/audio-visual team presentation. (2 activity hours per unit)
Decision Analysis (AGEC)
71. Agricultural Business Statistics (3)
Prerequisite: ELM requirement met. Study of statistical techniques and
formal reasoning applications to management and social and agricultural
sciences. Calculation, interpretation, critical evaluation, and historical
relevance of quantitative tools, data analysis, and results including graphical
presentations, descriptive and inferential statistics, hypothesis formulation
and testing, and regression.
76. Agribusiness Microcomputer Applications (3)
Applied microcomputing for agribusiness management; use of spreadsheet,
database management, and presentation software; applications to basic farm
accounting and financial budgeting, farm production recordkeeping, crop
and livestock enterprise management, and commodity price trend tracking.
(2 lecture, 3 lab hours)
78. Agribusiness Quantitative Analysis (3)
Prerequisite: ELM requirement met. Functional relationships, marginal analysis
and decision-making models in agribusiness; logic and probability in diagnosing
problems, designing operations and achieving objectives; identification
of procedures for efficient resource utilization.
170. Advanced Agribusiness Applications (3)
Prerequisites: AGEC 110, 120, 130, 150, 160; upper-division writing skills
requirement. Research methods applied to agricultural business; problem
definition and solution formulation; data collection and analysis using
statistics and other techniques. Culminating activities may include research
proposal, feasibility study, project review, business plan, strategic management,
case study; written reports and oral presentations.
Special Topics (AGEC)
80. Undergraduate Research (1-4; max total 4)
Prerequisites: AGEC 1 and permission of instructor. Directed study or research
on particular problems in the field of agricultural economics and business.
Consult department policies and procedures governing undergraduate research.
Approved for RP grading.
85T. Topics in Agricultural Business (1-3; max total 6)
Agricultural economics, farm management, agribusiness management, financial
planning, agricultural development, public policy, product marketing, and
decision analysis. Topics may require lab hours.
180. Undergraduate Research (1-4; max total 4)
Prerequisites: senior standing, upper-division writing skills requirement,
permission of instructor. Directed study or research on particular problems
in the field of agricultural economics and business. Consult department
policies and procedures governing undergraduate research. Approved for RP
grading.
185T. Topics in Agricultural Business (1-3; max total 9)
Prerequisite: AGEC 1. Agricultural economics, farm management, agribusiness
management, financial planning, agricultural development, public policy,
product marketing, and decision analysis. Topics may require lab hours.
Industry Relations (AGEC)
192. Agricultural Business Field Studies (2)
Prerequisite: AGEC 1. Business and economic functions performed by specialized
agricultural agencies with emphasis on physical operating patterns. Field
trips to production, marketing, and finance firms. Workshops with agribusiness
managers. (1 lecture, 2 lab hours) (Field trip fee, $75)
194. Agribusiness Internship (1-3; max total 6)
Prerequisites: junior standing. Emphasis on development of decision-making
ability through industrial experience integrated with basic principles acquired
in the classroom. Only 3 units of internship allowable in the major. CR/NC
grading only.
195. Agribusiness Career Seminar (2)
Prerequisite: junior standing or permission of instructor. Career exploration
and academic preparation in agribusiness; assessment of personal and professional
skills matching agricultural occupational choices; career planning, self-marketing
strategies, and job-hunting tactics; resume and letter writing, interview
and job-offer negotiations; workshops with industry representatives.
(See Course Numbering System
and Eligibility.)
Agricultural Business (AGBS)
210. Agribusiness Industry Analysis (3)
Prerequisite: classified standing or permission of instructor. Analysis
of characteristics unique to agricultural institutions; practices in financing,
producing, and marketing food and fiber products; integration of economic
principles with management techniques for optimum decision-making under
risk and uncertainty; crop/livestock enterprise budgeting; policy environment
impact on agriculture.
220. Food Processing and Distribution Management (3)
Prerequisite: AGBS 210. Classified standing or permission of instructor.
Analysis of strategic management decisions involving pricing relationships,
processing and packaging systems, supply channel management, transportation
modes and distribution logistics for agricultural products in domestic and
global markets; applications to food industry case problems including international
food marketing firms. (Formerly AGBS 225)
240. International Trade and Agricultural (3)
Analysis of global markets and national trade policies; economic principles
underlying free trade and World Trade Organization; regional integration
for growth/development; protectionism/preferences impact on capital investment
flows, firm productivity, and industry competitiveness; domestic farm programs,
international commodity agreements, and agricultural trade distortions.
250. Agricultural Policy Analysis (3)
Classified standing or permission of instructor. Examination of policy-making
processes; evaluation of government farm and food programs; determination
of industry responses and firm adjustments to changing market structures
and government policies; urbanization and other land, air, water resource
issues impacting agriculture; geopolitics and agricultural trade policy.
260. Commodity and Food Market Analysis (3)
Prerequisite: AGBS 210. Classified standing or permission of instructor.
Economic and institutional relationships in food and fiber markets; commodity
futures trading and risk management; derived demand by agribusiness for
raw commodities; food industry marketing margins and market price determination;
distribution and merchandising strategies; spatial and intertemporal price
equilibrium models.
280T. Topics in Agricultural Business (3; max total 6)
Prerequisite: AGBS 210. Classified standing or permission of instructor.
Fields of study include: farm management, agribusiness management, financial
planning, international agriculture, public policy, and product marketing.
290. Independent Study (1-3; max total 6)
See Academic Placement -- Independent
Study. Approved for RP grading.
IN-SERVICE COURSE
(See Course Numbering System.)
Agriculture (AGRI)
300. Topics In Agriculture (1-3; max total 6)
Topics may require lab hours. In-service professional training in selected
areas of agriculture.
Agricultural Economics Degrees