Market Power and Competition in Food and Agricultural Sectors

Group Project

This is a Group Project. Max number per group is 4. Groups must be submitted via Canvas by the due date listed on Canvas.

Background

You and your team are market analysts working for a food company with operations in Colorado.

Your manager wants a structured evaluation of the marketing channel in one sector of the food supply chain, as this will impact procurement decisions within your company.

Your manager asks you to pick one sector and use the case study data provided on Canvas to complete both qualitative and quantitative analysis.

All project documents and files you create must carry the designation PROJECT TEAM EYES ONLY.

Choose ONE sector

Select one of the five sectors below and use the corresponding case study dataset (Excel file) provided with that sector on Canvas.

Sector options and case study choices

  1. Fluid milk
    • Market Power in the Fluid Milk Industry (Bolotova – 2021)
    • Download data here: xx
  2. Dairy
    • Market Power in the U.S. Dairy Industry (Bolotova – 2023)
    • Download data here: xx
  3. Broilers
    • Buyer Market Power in the U.S. Broiler Chicken Industry (Bolotova – 2025)
    • Price-Fixing in the U.S. Broiler Chicken and Pork Industries (Bolotova – 2022)
    • Download data here: xx
  4. Pork
    • Price-Fixing in the U.S. Broiler Chicken and Pork Industries (Bolotova – 2022)
    • Download data here: xx
  5. Potatoes
    • Market Power in the U.S. Potato Industry (Bolotova – 2021)
    • Download data here: xx

Note: Some cases focus on seller market power (monopoly/oligopoly); others focus on buyer power (monopsony/oligopsony) or alleged collusion. Use the case’s framing to guide your narrative, but your deliverables below stay the same.

Project Overview

You will submit:

  1. One professional email (comprised of six parts) to your manager that includes:
  • A short, clear narrative summary (what you found and why it matters)
  • References to exhibits (tables/figures) in your Excel workbook
  • Calculations and results for concentration, market power, regression, and damages
  1. A modified Excel workbook that contains:
  • Cleaned data
  • Calculations
  • Exhibits (graphs/tables), each on its own worksheet

Submission Guidelines

Your final submission must include two files:

  1. Email packet (Word or PDF)
    • Include the cover page (template below)
    • Then include one email (the final email to your manager)
    • Use consistent 12-point font throughout
    • Every page must include: PROJECT TEAM EYES ONLY
  2. Excel workbook
    • All calculations and exhibits must be reproducible in Excel
    • Each exhibit must be on a separate worksheet, clearly titled (e.g., “Exhibit 2: Firm Volumes Over Time”)
    • Label axes and add informative titles to every figure

Data Source

Use the Excel data file provided with your selected case study on Canvas. Your analysis must use the case data as the quantitative backbone.

Final Email Requirements (what your email must contain)

Your email must be written to a manager and must be organized into six numbered sections below. Use headings for readability.

Section 1. Industry description (qualitative)

Describe the industry in qualitative terms, using economic logic:

  1. Structure
    • Who are the major players? (national and, if relevant, Colorado)
    • Roughly how many major firms vs. a competitive fringe?
    • Barriers to entry (capital needs, contracts, regulation, technology, access to distribution, etc.)
  2. Conduct
    • Evidence of mergers/acquisitions, contracting practices, capacity decisions, product differentiation, pricing behavior, or alleged collusion (as relevant to your case)
    • If buyer power is central (e.g., broilers), describe contracting/compensation mechanisms and what makes suppliers vulnerable
  3. Performance
    • Evidence on productivity/technical change, product quality, innovation, new products
    • Social or supply-chain implications of firm decisions (labor, resilience, regional access, etc.)

Your goal: apply economic concepts to real-world qualitative details (not just “tell a story”).

Section 2. Describe the data

Using the case dataset, provide a descriptive overview:

  • What is measured (e.g., firm-level volume/value, prices, costs, attributes, time period)?
  • Key trends over time (show graphs)
  • Notable differences across firms/products (show tables or figures)

Your email should point the manager to the key exhibits (e.g., “See Exhibit 2”).

Section 3. Concentration

Calculate and report:

  • HHI
  • CR4
  • CRx, where you choose x to clearly show where market share is concentrated (and where a fringe begins)

Explain what your concentration results imply for market structure and strategic behavior.

Section 4. Market power

Calculate and interpret a Lerner Index (or the closest feasible approximation given the variables in your case data).

State clearly:

  • The formula used
  • Any assumptions required by the data (e.g., how marginal cost is measured/approximated)

Section 5. Regression analysis

Run a regression that answers a simple pricing question, such as:

  • How do product/firm attributes relate to price?
  • Which attributes are associated with higher prices, and by how much?

Minimum expectations:

  • Define your dependent variable (price) and key independent variables (attributes)
  • Report coefficient estimates and interpret them in plain language (e.g., “associated with about X higher price”)

Section 6. Damages from market power

Estimate damages associated with market power in your sector. Depending on the case framing and available data, damages may be discussed as:

  • Overcharge/underpayment × quantity (where appropriate)
  • Deadweight loss (if you can support it with a simple model)
  • A clearly-defined “market power cost” metric justified by your methods and data

Then connect the damages back to:

  • Allocative efficiency (price vs. marginal cost)
  • Productive efficiency (cost discipline, innovation incentives, excess capacity, etc.)

Professional Style Requirements (for the email)

Your manager should be able to read the email quickly. Your email must:

  • Start with a 2–4 sentence executive summary
  • Use section headings (1–6) and refer to exhibits by name
  • Use short paragraphs and bullets
  • Avoid jargon when a plain alternative works
  • Cite any sources used beyond the case materials. The citations should be in MLA format:
  1. Journal article (MLA Works Cited)

Last Name, First Name. “Title of Article.” Title of Journal, vol. number, no. number, Year, pp. page range. DOI.

Example: Smith, Jordan. “Market Power in U.S. Food Supply Chains.” Journal of Agricultural Economics, vol. 72, no. 3, 2021, pp. 455–478. https://doi.org/10.1093/jae/ejab012.

  1. Web page (MLA Works Cited)

Last Name, First Name (if available). “Title of Web Page.” Name of Website, Publisher or Sponsoring Organization (if different from website name), Day Month Year, URL. Accessed Day Month Year.

Example: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service. “Sector at a Glance.” USDA ERS, 2025, https://www.ers.usda.gov/topics/farm-economy/sector-at-a-glance/. Accessed 14 Jan. 2026.

COVER PAGE TEMPLATE

Market Power and Competition Project: Final Submission

Team Name: [Insert Team Name]

Sector Chosen: [Pork / Broilers / Fluid Milk / Dairy / Potatoes]

Case Study Used: [Insert full case title + year]

Date of Submission: [Insert Date]

Instructor: [Insert Instructor Name]

Course: AREC 310: Food and Agricultural Markets

Team Members:

  1. [Insert Full Name]
  2. [Insert Full Name]
  3. [Insert Full Name]
  4. [Insert Full Name]

Summary (4–6 sentences):

Briefly describe the sector you analyzed and the main takeaway for management.

Contents:

  • Cover Page
  • Final Email to Manager (Sections 1–6)
  • Excel Workbook (Data + Calculations + Exhibits)