Course Offerings

View NDSU University Bulletin (pdf)

The Department of Agribusiness and Applied Economics offers courses in the areas of Agricultural Economics and Economics. The official description of our courses are available in the NDSU University Bulletin under the categories of Agricultural Economics (AGEC) and Economics (ECON).

Our faculty use technology to enhance the learning experience, for example, an extensive portion of our course offerings are available through the Blackboard course management system. Visitors can log into the system as "guest" with limited access by

• clicking on "Login" (left side)
• clicking on "Preview " (left of center)
• clicking on "Courses" (upper left)
• clicking on "NDSU BLACKBOARD COURSES" (top of right column)
• clicking on the department of your choice, such as "Agribusiness and Applied Economics"

AGRICULTURAL ECONOMICS (AGEC)

242 Introduction to Agricultural Management (CCN) 4
Economic and managerial concepts related to farm or agribusiness production process, development of cost data, enterprise analysis, organization and management of production inputs. 3 lectures, 1 laboratory.

244 Agricultural Marketing (CCN) 3
Study of the agricultural marketing system to include cash marketing, commodity futures trading, branded products merchandising and the interrelationship of the government and international trade. 3 lectures.

246 Introduction to Agricultural Finance I (CCN) 4
Introduction to agricultural finance; provides background in farm and agribusiness credit use and evaluation. Discussion of specific financial conditions on farms and in agribusiness. 3 lectures, 1 laboratory.

339 Quantitative Methods and Decision Making 3
Application of basic probability concepts to decision analysis, introduction to linear programming models, and decision-free analysis. 3 lectures. Prereq: ECON 201 and MATH 146.

342 Farm and Agribusiness Management II 3
Application of production economics principles to farm and agribusiness operations. Economic input-output principles and profit maximization. 2 lectures, 1 laboratory. Prereq: AGEC 242.

344 Agriculture Price Analysis 3
Introduction to price analysis in agricultural markets. 3 lectures. Prereq: AGEC 244.

346 Agricultural Finance II 3
Development of tools to analyze financial and credit use problems unique to farms, ranches, and agribusinesses. For Agricultural Economics majors. 3 lectures.

347 Principles of Real Estate 3
Principles and techniques of real estate appraisals, practical application of appraisal principles, and techniques to real property evaluation. 2 lectures, 1 laboratory. Prereq: ECON 201. Crosslisted with BUSN.

350 AgriSales 3
The principles of salesmanship applied to the agricultural business. Topics include attitudes and value systems, basic behavioral patterns, relationship of sales to marketing, selling strategies, preparing for sales calls, making sales presentations, and closing sales. 3 lectures.

360 International Agribusiness Experience 3
Provides students an applied context for analyzing international agribusiness. Students participate in a self- or  prearranged experience and research an agribusiness topic in depth prior to and while studying in a foreign country.

374 Cooperatives 3
Theory, practice, and evaluation of cooperatives including principles, management, marketing, finance, taxes, legal issues, and adjusting to change. 2 lectures. Prereq: ECON 201. Crosslisted with BUSN.

375 Applied Agricultural Law (CCN) 3
Study of laws affecting agriculture and agribusiness including property ownership, financial relations, and environmental regulation. 2 lectures.

378 Introduction to Transportation and Logistics 3
Presents the role and importance of transportation, with detailed discussion of the various modes and their specific characteristics. Covers basic logistics concepts in addition to transportation, including inventory, warehousing, and location decisions. Prereq: ECON 201.

420 Integrated Farm and Ranch Management 3
Intended for persons who will advise or manage farm and ranch operations. Application of all phases of management (including marketing, finance) to crop and livestock production practice. 2 lectures, 1 laboratory. Prereq: AGEC 242, 244, or 246.

444/644 Crops Marketing 3
Capstone course for commodity marketing option. Advanced work on topics related to marketing of crops. 2 lectures.  Prereq: AGEC 344. Coreq: AGEC 339.

445 Agribusiness Industrial Strategy 3
The course integrates industrial organization topics with specific applications to agribusiness strategy problems. Focus is on industry analysis and issues in competition, strategy, and rivalry from an agribusiness perspective. Prereq: AGEC  344. Coreq: AGEC 339.

446/646 Agribusiness Finance 3
Application of financial theory to investment and liability management problems of agribusiness and farm firms. Characteristics, operations, and management of agricultural financial institutions. 3 lectures. Prereq: AGEC 339, 346.

450 National AgriMarketing Association (NAMA) I 1
Learn the components of an agribusiness marketing plan and apply this knowledge in the development of a marketing plan for a selected product. 1 lecture.

451 National AgriMarketing Association (NAMA) II 2
Review the components of an agribusiness marketing plan. Work in teams to prepare written and oral marketing plans for the National NAMA student chapter competition in April. 2 lectures.

452/652 Food Laws and Regulations 3
See Food Safety for description. [Regulations, laws, and dynamics governining development of food policy.]

470/670 Agricultural Trade 2
Introduction to trade theory and policies and their applications to agricultural product trade. 2 lectures.

472/672 Advanced Logistical Analysis 3
Presents major analytical tools and methods used in analyzing logistical strategies. Course emphasis is on application of analytical tools used in quantifying logistical problems by manufacturing, trading, and shipping firms. Prereq: AGEC 378 and AGEC 339 or BUSN 352.

484 Agricultural Policy 3
Analysis of the evolution and development of federal food, natural resource, and trade policies and their consequences on the agricultural sector. Exploration of how microeconomic forces influence formulation of macroeconomic  agricultural policy. Prereq: ECON 201, Junior standing.

ECONOMICS (ECON)

105 Elements of Economics (CCN) 3
Study of demand and supply, competitive and noncompetitive markets, concepts of national income, unemployment, inflation, money, and fiscal and monetary policies. This course cannot be substituted for ECON 201 and 202. (ND:SS)

201 Principles of Microeconomics (CCN) 3
Nature, method, and scope of economic analysis; economic scarcity, resources, specialization of labor; supply-demand analysis; production and cost analysis; product and resource market structures; distribution of income; international trade. (ND:SS)

202 Principles of Macroeconomics (CCN) 3
Aggregate income and employment analysis; business cycles, unemployment, inflation and economic growth; fiscal policy; money and monetary policy; the U.S. economy and the world economy. (ND:SS)

324 Money and Banking 3
Institutional and theoretical framework of the financial structure including the banking system, Federal Reserve, money markets, and international monetary systems. Prereq: ECON 201, 202.

341 Intermediate Microeconomics 3
Analysis of markets in terms of efficiency, resource use, and economic welfare. Prereq: ECON 201, 202, MATH 146.

343 Intermediate Macroeconomics 3
Analysis of national output, business cycles, inflation, unemployment rates, interest rates, exchange rates, impact of monetary and fiscal policies, and economic growth. Prereq: ECON 201, 202.

456/656 History of Economic Thought 3
Development of economic thought from the mercantilists to Keynesian economics. Prereq: ECON 341 or BUSN 451 and ECON 324 or 343.

461/661 Economic Development 3
Analysis of the main causes of economic development. Prereq: ECON 341 or BUSN 451.

465/665 Labor Economics 3
Theoretical analysis and survey of empirical studies relating to labor markets, human capital formation, and nature and causes of unemployment. Prereq: ECON 341 or BUSN 451.

470/670 Public Finance 3
Taxation, intergovernmental fiscal relations, and public expenditures; implications of various taxation policies. Prereq:  ECON 341 or BUSN 451.

472/672 International Trade 3
Theories of international trade, payments, and foreign exchange markets. Prereq: ECON 341 or BUSN 451.

476/676 Monetary Theory and Policy 3
Analysis of relationships among money, credit, employment, price stability, and national monetary policy. Prereq: ECON 324 or 343.

480/680 Industrial Organization 3
Structural analysis of American industry in terms of the markets for business enterprise. Analysis of antitrust policy and its application to large corporations. Prereq: ECON 341 or BUSN 451.

481/681 Natural Resource Economics 3
Application of economic tools to evaluate natural resource policies. Concepts such as property rights, non-market goods, resource allocation over time, externalities, open access, and public goods are discussed in an intermediate micro-economics and calculusbased format. Prereq: ECON 341 or BUSN 451.

482 Environmental Economics 3
Application of economic tools to evaluate environmental policies. Topics include cost benefit analysis, regulatory versus market pollution control approaches, environmental damage assessment, and green accounting. Prereq: ECON 341 or BUSN 451. Crosslisted with NRM.

link to Welcome to Economics