AREC 408 - Agricultural Finance

Prerequisite

AREC 305 (Agricultural and Resource Enterprise Analysis).

Description

This course is excellent preparation for those interested in the financial analysis, risk management and investment decision aspects of running a farm, ranch or agribusiness operation. It is also a great opportunity for those interested to learn about key trends, institutions and financial issues facing the ag and food sector.

In this course, students will:

• Become better acquainted with the current financial position of US agribusiness, farms and ranches.
• Explore how a firm’s financial information are indicators of performance, and explore the role that debt financing plays in a firm’s growth and solvency.
• Confront investment issues by understanding opportunity costs, tax implications and decision rules in capital budgeting.
• Characterize financial risk in a firm, and understand how to use various strategies to mitigate risk (diversification, capital structure and informed decision making).

After completing the course, students should feel confident in discussing financial performance and analysis issues in the context of a firm's business strategy and the broader market conditions. In addition, students will have the tools to analyze more complex managerial decisions they might face as a manager.

This course has print-based exams that require a proctor. A Proctor Agreement Form will be required. ProctorU is not available for this course.

This course can be applied towards:

• Agricultural Business (B.S.)

Textbooks and Materials

Textbooks and materials can be purchased at the CSU Bookstore unless otherwise indicated.

Required

• Financial Management in Agriculture, 6th Ed. (1999)
  Barry, Peter et al.
  ISBN: 978-0813431765

Instructors

Dawn Thilmany
(970) 491-7220
Dawn.Thilmany@colostate.edu

Dr. Dawn Thilmany is a professor of agricultural and resource economics at Colorado State University. Her research focus in the area of alternative markets is on consumer segmentation, relative importance of various product attributes, consumer behavior, and willingness to pay assessment.

Through value-added grants, industry-sponsored research and USDA NRI funding, she and others have completed consumer analyses for natural meats, fresh produce, local wines, agritourism, and a variety of foods. Her work in this area also aligns with objectives in the community economic development realm, since work on valued-added agricultural economic development often has a regional dimension. Economic impact analyses of Colorado's wine, agritourism, ornamental horticulture, and golf industries have been used by those industries in planning for their future needs and priorities.

Finally, continued projects with USDA-APHIS and Farm Foundation will see her providing a regional and economic development perspective to animal health and food safety projects.