As one of the most successful and longest-running management programs specifically crafted for farmers, the Purdue Top Farmer Conference is a one-day event for agricultural producers and agribusiness professionals looking to navigate the complexities of today's agricultural landscape. Participants will have the opportunity to network with peers and hear from farm management experts and agricultural economists from Purdue, Farm Credit Services of America, the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and Acres, a land value data analytics company.
Enroll in our classes
Our faculty present their knowledge in the classrooms as well other formats and venues. If you're (or parent of) a current or future student and wondering where to enroll with one of our team members teaching, peruse the class list below, the instructor will be listed in the expanded detail section.
with Dr. Chad Fiechter
Credit Hours: 3.00. This course introduces the application of microeconomics as used by farms and agribusiness firms. The behavior of individual firms is evaluated as price and output are determined in various market structures (pure competition, pure monopoly, monopolistic competition, and oligopoly). Other topics include pricing and employment of resources, market failure and the social control of industry (government, economics policy, and regulation), cost and production theory. Typically offered Fall & Spring.
with Dr. Mindy Mallory
Credit Hours: 3.00. This class provides an overview of U.S. and international agricultural markets, and develops a framework for analyzing those markets. Concepts include determination of agricultural prices, spatial dimensions of agricultural markets, and trade; temporal dimensions of agricultural markets, and futures and options markets; and public policy in agricultural markets. Typically offered Spring.
with Dr. James Mintert
Credit Hours: 3.00. An in-depth background on the origin, operation, and application of futures and options in risk management for agriculture. Covers grain, livestock, and yield futures and options. Applications of futures and options to price and yield risk management is provided. Comparison of expected results from various risk management alternatives and decision-making processes to use in selecting a risk management strategy. Typically offered Fall.
with Dr. Brady Brewer
Credit Hours: 3.00. Management of nonfarm, agriculturally related businesses. Topics include tools for management decision making, legal forms of business organization, basics of accounting, and important financial management techniques. Case studies and computer simulation game. Typically offered Fall Spring.
with Dr. Chad Fiechter
Credit Hours: 4.00. Principles of farm organization and management, farmer interviews, and the application of computerized farm decision-making methods. Typically offered Fall.
with Dr. Mindy Mallory
Credit Hours: 3.00. Application of commodity marketing principles to grain, livestock, and other commodity sectors. Applications include hedging, speculation, risk management, and fundamental and technical price analysis. Examination and testing of pricing strategies and the development of commodity marketing plans. Typically offered Spring.
with Dr. Michael Langemeier
Credit Hours: 3.00. Introduction to the federal income tax laws applicable to individuals and small business with emphasis on the farming business. The course includes management implications and the policy basis for the tax law system. Techniques and practice for the preparation of selected forms will be included. There will be limited exposure to taxation of partnerships, corporations, estates, and to federal gift and estate tax law. Typically offered Fall.
with Dr. Michael Langemeier
Credit Hours: 3.00. Designed to provide students the concepts and tools to apply financial management principles to farm businesses. Topics include financing alternatives, preparation and interpretation of financial statements, and capital investment analysis using discounted cash flows. Typically offered Spring.
with Dr. Todd Kuethe
Credit Hours: 3.00. Advanced capital budgeting topics including: tax policy, inflation, optimal replacement, bid models, and inclusion of financing flows; application of expected utility theory and mathematical programming to optimal capital structure decisions of proprietors; farmland investment, pricing, and dynamics; pricing contingent claims. Prerequisite: AGEC 52400; AGEC 55200 suggested. Typically offered Fall.
with Dr. Mindy Mallory
Credit Hours: 3.00. Agricultural markets are multi-faceted, having been studied using a wide range of analytical tools. This graduate-level course emphasizes charactering demand and supply of agricultural markets and understanding forces that determine commodity and food prices. It also aims to cover a set of economic studies of prices and assist students in applying theoretical frameworks and time-series econometrics to empirical analysis of agricultural prices. In addition to studying prices in perfectly competitive markets, the first half of the course highlights several classic models of consumer demand and agricultural supply, prices under imperfect competition, price spreads (marketing margins), and the economics of information. The second half of the course focuses on empirical price analysis. Popular time-series econometric tools are introduced to study price relationships over space and time, price discovery mechanisms, and functions of futures markets. Typically offered Spring.