Overview:

Learn to apply strategic management principles to farm businesses, including goal setting, defining risk preferences, internal and external scanning, and finding your niche in the agricultural markets.

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Production agriculture in the United States is undergoing a profound transformation. Driven by technological and organizational innovation, the entire agriculture and food sector is becoming more consolidated and coordinated. In order to be competitive in this new environment, Iowa's farm managers must acquire a new set of skills.

Specifically, farmers must make the difficult transition from being, for the most part, front-line managers - managing a production process or operation to being a general manager with a focus on business strategy, resource acquisition and business relationships. Farmers and the agribusiness professionals with whom they work are concerned about competitiveness, profitability, economic viability, the benefits and costs of participating in specific business relationships or the development of new managerial skills.

Fundamental questions of this type can only be addressed within a strategic management framework. Strategy development is an essential function of management. As a consequence, strategic management is relevant to all farm operations.

Course Modules

• Background
• The Basic Idea; Getting Started
• Vision and Goal Setting
• Internal Scanning
• External Scanning
• Strategy Development