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Food & Agribusiness Management
Satisfying a Global Need
The global marketplace is one of constant change and challenge. Consumer demand, natural disasters, labor issues and political crises drive prices up and down, resulting in profits or losses for millions of companies worldwide. One of the biggest global players is the food and agribusiness industry, which contributes trillions of dollars each year to the US economy alone.
Meeting the demands of an ever-increasing population, the food and agribusiness sector employs millions of professionals in sales, advertising, marketing, finance, economics, international trade, and food & fiber production. From selling commodities on the Chicago Futures Market to predicting how Mad Cow Disease will affect world beef markets,
to negotiating produce exports with other countries, the food and agribusiness management industry continually supports the food and fiber needs of a growing world.
The Building Blocks of Business
Blending basics like marketing, management, leadership, finance and accounting with specialties related to the trillion dollar food and fiber industry, the Food and Agribusiness Management (FABM) major is an exciting alternative to the traditional Business major. FABM majors at UD benefit from the cooperative relationship of the Lerner College of Business and Economics and the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, as they take classes with Ph.D. faculty in each college.
Course topics in the FABM curriculum include things like food retailing and wholesaling; establishing an agribusiness enterprise; international trade; product management; policy and public programs; and strategies of successful salesmanship. One of our most popular courses is Futures and Options Markets, where an on-site link to the Chicago Board of Trade lets students track their commodities in the market and “buy and sell” inside the classroom.
In addition to business courses, students achieve diversity in their curriculum by fulfilling requirements in mathematics; computers; foreign language; English; social sciences; humanities; literature and arts; and the agricultural and biological sciences. An optional concentration in Food Marketing is available, where students explore the food market system from farm to consumer and learn to market food commodities--from cereal and produce to Pop-Tarts and Perdue chicken.
A Place to Learn
FABM majors take courses across campus, from the formal halls of the Lerner College of Business & Economics to the more casual classrooms of Townsend Hall, home to the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources. Situated at the edge of 350 acres, Townsend Hall houses a student Commons, faculty offices, a branch library, a lecture hall, and several problem-based learning classrooms. FABM majors are often found in the Townsend Computer Center, known across campus as one of the most up-to-date and impressive sites at UD.
Our close proximity to many agribusiness firms; financial institutions; the Port of Wilmington; corporate giants like DuPont and AstraZeneca; and to the cities of Philadelphia, Baltimore and New York creates great opportunities for field trips, internships, and summer employment for FABM majors.
Enriching the Experience
For many students, interactions with faculty are the first step to creating a meaningful college experience. For FABM majors, this relationship begins early in the first year, when students meet their faculty advisors. These professors work directly with each FABM major to assist with course selection, internship advice and career planning. This unique relationship not only enriches the undergraduate experience, but pays off greatly when it comes time for recommendation letters, graduate-school references, and the job search.
Students may also enhance their experience here by doing undergraduate research, working with a faculty mentor to explore a topic at a greater depth than is normally covered in the classroom. Some carry this experience all the way to writing a thesis and earning a Degree with Distinction, sometimes resulting in publication in a professional journal.
All FABM majors are encouraged to experience the “real world” by pursuing an internship, where they earn a stipend or academic credit for their work at a local agency, corporation or firm. Many UD alumni work in the local food & agribusiness sector and maintain excellent ties to our program, providing great contacts for our undergraduates.
Because of the global nature of the industry, international travel is encouraged for FABM majors. A semester spent somewhere like Geneva, London or Japan—or any of UD’s many programs—contributes greatly to students’ global perspectives and ultimately enriches their undergraduate experience.
The Job Market
Our alumni are good indicators of the marketable skills that an FABM degree can provide. FABM graduates are working in government agencies like the FDA and the USDA and in big-name companies like Kellogg’s, Dole, Perdue, DuPont, Smith Barney, MBNA, American Cyanamid, Oscar Mayer, Cargill, Pepsi, and General Foods--just to name a few. Typical careers of FABM graduates include food marketing and sales, produce and food brokering, investment banking, market analysis, agricultural chemical sales, and business management. Some students choose to enter graduate school to work on an MBA, a law degree, or a Master’s Degree in fields like food marketing, international marketing, and agribusiness finance.
Students are encouraged to build their career networks early by mingling with employers at our annual career fair and attending our job-search workshops. By joining our student chapter of the National AgriMarketing Association (NAMA), students gain valuable marketing experience by working on a student design team that competes in a national competition. NAMA members also have the opportunity to dine each month with CEOs and top managers of some of agribusiness’ biggest hitters. We provide our students with plenty of opportunities to polish their public-speaking skills, to develop smart business sense, and to get an edge on networking. This, in addition to doing well academically, greatly enhances post-graduate opportunities.
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