Agricultural Business

The Agricultural Business major is designed for students interested in working in the area of agricultural-related businesses. Students selecting this specialization meet all the basic requirements for a degree in Agricultural Business and, in addition, select those courses in Business Administration which will prepare them for a career in the rapidly expanding fields of various combinations of agriculture and business related industries.

Career opportunities in agricultural business may include: Agricultural Stabilization and Conservation Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, ranches, banks, agricultural credit associations, insurance companies, consulting firms, and agricultural product distribution and sales.

Program Description: Business management is business management. The fundamental principles are the same, regardless of the product or service being produced or marketed. Identical skills apply equally to the family farm as to the multi-national corporation.

However, there are a few things that make Agricultural Business (Agribusiness) unique. For example, the agricultural business manager is often dealing with a perishable product that is produced seasonally. Therefore, it is much easier for the manager with a background in agriculture to transition to some other field of business than it is for someone without that background to transition into agribusiness.

In addition to the fundamentals of the agricultural sciences, the agribusiness student at Sul Ross State University receives a basic grounding in macro and micro-economic theory with a world view. However, his/her preparation does not stop there. The program also provides the tools necessary to apply this theory to the management of the modern agribusiness.

Through the 18 semester hour minor and judicious use of electives, Agribusiness students develop a specific area of specialization to fit his/her personal career goals and objectives. For example, possible areas of concentration might include:

• General Agribusiness Management
• Farm and Ranch Management
• Meat Industry Management
• Horse Production
• Ruminant Livestock Production
• Agricultural Education (leading to a teaching certificate)
• Vet Clinic Business Management
• Farrier Technology Business Management
• Agricultural Communications (Journalism)
• Agricultural Finance or Accounting
• International Development and Trade
• Natural Resource Management and Environmental Economics
• Graduate School Preparation (Quantitative Skills)
• Pre-Law

Employment opportunities in Agribusiness are virtually unlimited—probably more so than in any other field of business. The general perception of agriculture (that it is confined strictly to the family farm) is inaccurate. Statistics show that it takes at least 16 people to keep one farmer in business. This includes such activities as the production and marketing of everything from petroleum products to feeds, seeds, fertilizers, equipment and machinery and on and on. Viewed from this perspective, “Agri” business is indeed the largest industry in the world.

One out of every five workers is employed in the agricultural sector of the economy. Our program provides the flexibility needed to meet a diverse set of career interests. Our graduates are prepared for the challenges of a world of increasingly global and information-driven agriculture. Opportunities exist with food companies and markets, environmental and natural resource management agencies, as well as companies and agencies outside the agricultural sector.

Among other things, our program can prepare you to:

• Develop entrepreneurial skills related to agriculture and agri-business
• Work in various areas of international development and trade
• Return to the family farm or ranch with enhanced management skills
• Start, acquire or manage a business in the agricultural sector
• Provide financial and estate planning and/or accounting services to agricultural producers and agri-businesses
• Be an agricultural journalist-reporter
• Market agricultural inputs (feeds, seeds, fertilizers, machinery & equipment, pharmaceuticals, etc.)
• Solve natural resource management problems
• Perform economic analyses of agricultural policies
• Market and/or appraise agricultural real estate properties (farms and ranches)
• Trade futures market contracts
• Be admitted to graduate or law school

Graduates of the Sul Ross Agribusiness program are currently employed in production and processing management, personnel management, marketing and sales, banking and credit, real estate, insurance, accounting and financial management, stock and commodity brokerage and many other fields. Some have returned to the family farm or ranch and some have founded their own successful businesses.

Would you like more Agribusiness information?  http://faculty.sulross.edu/jlabaume