Agricultural Economics Courses
Fall 2011
AECN 100 - Career Orientation
Instructor - Dr. Ron Hanson
Description - Academic success and development of leadership skills through involvement and activities on campus. Time management and study skills. Identify potential internship and career opportunities.
AECN 141 - Introduction to Economics of Agriculture
Instructor - Dr. Ron Hanson
Description - Introductory course on the basic principles of agricultural economics. Production economics, principles of supply and demand, resource economics, world food situation, marketing of agricultural products, and agricultural public policy.
AECN 201 - Farm and Ranch Management
Instructor - Dr. Ron Hanson
Description - Various economic principles and business management concepts which are involved in the decision-making process when organizing and operating a farming/ranching operation. Includes production economics, record keeping systems, financial budgets and analysis, crop and livestock enterprise analysis, leasing arrangements, depreciation, farm business organizations, farm investment analysis, pasture/rangeland management, and production efficiency indicators.
AECN 256 - Legal Aspects of Agriculture
Instructor - Professor David Aiken
Description - Legal aspects of agriculture: taxation, contracts, property rights, buying and selling real estate, condemnation, land use regulations, leases, co-ownership, partnerships, corporations, commercial transactions, credit, liability, insurance, estate planning, water law, and agricultural regulations. A practical exposure to the legal institutions of Nebraska.
AECN 265 - Resource and Environmental Economics I
Instructor - Dr. Bruce Johnson
Description - Introduction to resource economics and the role of such concepts in natural resource management. The interface of economics and ecology in the context of both private and public decision making. Application of economic principles to actual natural resource/environmental issues.
AECN 275 - Agribusiness Entrepreneurial Finance
Instructor - Dr. David Lambe
Description - Overview of financial issues for agribusiness start-ups. Business funding specific to new enterprises. Case studies on financial practices for start-up firms.
AECN 301 - Farm Accounting Analysis and Taxation
Instructor - Tina Barrett
Description - Business record systems for farming and ranching. Financial statements; income tax and decision making; farm business and enterprise analysis.
AECN 316 - Agribusiness Management
Instructor - Dr. Amalia Yiannaka
Description - Business strategies for agribusiness firms under various market environments, asymmetric information problems that may lead to inefficient market outcomes. Game theory as a formal tool of studying conflict and cooperation in oligopolistic agri-food markets.
AECN 325 - Marketing Agricultural Commodities
Instructor - Dave Fiala
Description - Operation and use of agricultural commodity markets and institutions as applied to enterprise and firm risk management. Cash; futures and futures option markets; basis; hedging; price discovery; fundamental analysis; and risk management strategies.
AECN 345 - Policy Issues in Agriculture and Natural Resources
Instructor - Dr. Brad Lubben
Description - History, development, programs, and analysis of public policy issues in agriculture and natural resources. Analysis of science, economic, and political factors involved in policy development. Farm policy and farm structure, food and nutrition, trade and development, natural resources, the environment, and bioenergy, with special attention to issues and policies impacting Nebraska.
AECN 357 - Natural Resources and Environmental Law
Instructor - Professor David Aiken
Description - Environmental impact review; air and water pollution control; solid and hazardous waste control; endangered species and habitat preservation; land use regulation; state and federal water rights law.
AECN 388 - Ethics in Agriculture & Natural Resources
Instructor - Dr. David Kwaw-Mensah
Description - Ethics focusing on agricultural and natural resource issues. Using case studies from the professional workplace and contemporary society, develops intellectual skills necessary to reflect critically on ethical issues and apply appropriate conceptual tools for resolution of issues arising from conflicting ethical and value systems.
AECN 399 - Energy and Environment: Economics & Policy
Instructor - Dr. Lilyan Fulginiti and Dr. Richard Perrin
Description -
AECN 425 - Agricultural Marketing in a Multi-National Environment
Instructor - Dr. Amalia Yiannaka
Description - Systems approach to evaulating the effects of current domestic and international political and economic events on agricultural markets.
AECN 453 - Ag Property Appraisal
Instructor - Dr. Bruce Johnson
Description - Valuation of agricultural and rural real estate traced from the underlying theory of value through full development of principles, practices, and factors used by the appraisal profession to estimate value. The income approach, the market data approach, and the cost approach to value developed in detail. Appraisal procedure analyzed for such special purposes as farm loans, tax assessment, and condemnation.
AECN 456 - Environmental Law
Instructor - Professor David Aiken
Description - Administrative law, risk assessment, environmental impact review, Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, non-point pollution control, wetlands regulations pesticide and toxic substance regulation, solid and hazardous waste regulation, drinking water protection, land use regulation, energy policy, and international environmental law.
AECN 457 - Water Law
Instructor - Professor David Aiken
Description - Environmental impact review; public trust doctrine; endangered species; land use controls; wetlands regulation; surface and ground water rights; Indian and federal water rights; impact of water quality regulations on water allocation.
AECN 471 - Ag Marketing and Product Development I
Instructor - Rosalee Swartz
Description - Selection of an agriculturally related product or service and the development of a comprehensive marketing plan. Market analysis of physical, economic and financial feasibility and formalization of an effective promotional product campaign.
