Syllabus

AREC 280-A1/224 (Fall 2025)

Course Information

Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics

Course Name: AREC 280-A1/224 (212872), Introduction to Agribusiness Entrepreneurship

Time: 8:00 AM - 9:15 AM T R

Instructor: Lauren Chenarides

Email:

Location: Clark C 248

Term: August 25 – December 14, 2025

Teaching Assistant (TA): Diya Khatiwada

TA Email:

Course Description

The primary objective is to foster development and understanding of key agricultural marketing issues and concerns, equip you with analytical skills that may be utilized to evaluate different marketing problems and programs from both the industry and firm perspective. This course will provide you with an understanding of economic concepts that will be employed for analyzing issues in agricultural marketing

Learning Objectives

  • Understand the functions performed and appreciate the importance and the complexity of the agricultural and food marketing system. (Problem-solving Skill and Professional Development Learning Objectives)
  • Understand the basic workings of the futures markets for speculators and hedgers, and how these may be used by producers and firms to manage price risk. (Technical Competence Learning Objective)
  • Be able to apply the basic economic concepts and analytical tools to understand the market forces that affect prices and to be able to use these tools to evaluate markets, prices, and current agricultural marketing issues. (Technical Competence and Problem-solving Skills Learning Objectives)
  • Refine your ability to think critically and be able to justify your position with relevant economic logic by developing an analytical approach and decision-making framework for economic decisions made by producers & firms in the marketing system. (Communication Skills and Problem-solving Skills Learning Objectives)

Successful graduates from undergraduate programs in Agricultural and Resource Economics will exhibit the following characteristics:

Professional Development: Graduates will embody a general awareness of issues in agricultural and natural resource and education issues and their implications in a larger societal context. Students will begin to develop a network of personal and professional connections, which will foster an understanding of the culture surrounding professional expectations and conduct.

Technical Competence: Graduates will demonstrate technical competency including the ability to use theory in formulating analytical problems, identifying and gathering appropriate data, employing appropriate analysis of those problems, utilizing appropriate available technology, and educating others.

Problem-solving Skills: Graduates will demonstrate the ability to solve real-world problems beyond the context of the classroom. Students will be able to identify a problem and its scope, evaluate resources available to address the problem, formulate alternative solutions, and select the solution(s) most consistent with a stated objective.

Communication Skills: Graduates will demonstrate proficiency in oral and written communication in terms of substance, organization, mechanics, documentation, and synthesis. Proficient students will have the ability to communicate material and findings at a professional level within their chosen career.

Leadership: Graduates will have developed leadership qualities that they will use in their professional, personal and community interactions leveraging the other competencies acquired in the program. These leadership qualities include vision, initiative, personal responsibility, team building, and motivating collective action.

This course will contribute to several DARE Learning Outcomes:

  • You will develop problem-solving skills by identifying gaps in the market, evaluating potential solutions, and designing viable agribusiness models. Through weekly case studies, you will practice applying economic reasoning and entrepreneurial thinking to real-world decisions.
  • You will strengthen your communication skills by crafting and delivering business pitches, participating in structured debates, and conducting interviews with entrepreneurs and mentors.
  • You will gain professional development experience through interaction with industry mentors, peer collaboration, and exposure to current challenges in food and agricultural markets.
  • Finally, you will have opportunities to practice leadership by working in teams, taking initiative in your final business case project, and guiding your peers through collaborative learning experiences.

Class Readings

This course draws on two primary sources:

  • Kuratko, Donald F. Entrepreneurship: Theory, Process, Practice, 12th Edition. Cengage.
    This is our core textbook. Weekly quizzes will be based on assigned chapters.

  • Harvard Business Publishing Coursepack
    Includes all required case studies used for Thursday case discussions.
    👉 Access Coursepack Here

Both the textbook and case studies are required for full participation in the course. Additional readings and materials may be posted online throughout the semester.

Grading

Final grades will be calculated as follows:

Item Weight Notes
Weekly Quizzes 10 % 12 quizzes, lowest two scores dropped
Midterm Exam 20 % In-class exam covering weeks 2–7
Case Study: Fishbowl Assignment 20 % Based on your assigned fishbowl week
Case Study: Observer Assignment 10 % Based on your assigned observer week
Case Study: Weekly Reflections 15 % 9 required + 1 homework assignment for the Case Companion in Week 1
Podcase 10 % Team-produced episode and transcript
Business Case Competition 15 % Final pitch + written brief

All assignments—quizzes, reflections, case write-ups, and project materials—will be submitted via Canvas. Deadlines and submission links will be listed in the weekly modules.

Students will be placed in teams of four for both the podcase and the final business case competition. Each pod will be paired with a mentor based on preferences and interests. Think of this as a “mentor match,” and you’ll stick with this team throughout the semester.

Grading Policies

  • Late submissions are not accepted. Any assignment submitted after the deadline will automatically receive a zero.
  • Quiz Policy: The two lowest quiz scores will be dropped when calculating your final grade.
  • All graded components are weighted individually and not curved.
  • Participation in both Fishbowl and Observer roles is required for passing the course.

Grading Scale

Grade Range Grade Range
A+ 100% – 96.67% C+ 79.99% – 76.67%
A 96.66% – 93.34% C 76.66% – 70.00%
A- 93.33% – 90.00% D 69.99% – 60.00%
B+ 89.99% – 86.67% F < 60.00%
B 86.66% – 83.34%
B- 83.33% – 80.00%

In accordance with Canvas Grading Schemes.

Grades are assigned based on demonstrated learning outcomes—not effort alone. However, consistent effort does improve your ability to meet expectations and raise your performance over time.

  • A+ (Exceptional): Demonstrates mastery of the material with original insight or exceptional quality. Represents the highest level of academic performance and intellectual engagement. Reserved for work that exceeds typical A-level expectations in clarity, depth, and creativity.
  • A / A- (Excellent): Indicates strong understanding, analytical skill, and consistent engagement. Work is thorough, well-reasoned, and clearly presented.
  • B Range (Good): Solid performance with room for deeper insight or stronger execution. Meets course expectations and reflects a competent grasp of material.
  • C Range (Satisfactory): Adequate understanding of core concepts, though analysis may be basic or inconsistently applied.
  • D (Poor): Partial understanding or weak demonstration of concepts. Assignments may be incomplete or show significant gaps.
  • F (Failing): Inadequate performance or failure to meet minimum course requirements.

Principles of Community

The Principles of Community support the Colorado State University mission and vision of access, research, teaching, service and engagement. A collaborative, and vibrant community is a foundation for learning, critical inquiry, and discovery. Therefore, each member of the CSU community has a responsibility to uphold these principles when engaging with one another and acting on behalf of the University

Inclusion: We create and nurture inclusive environments and welcome, value and affirm all members of our community, including their various identities, skills, ideas, talents, and contributions.

Integrity: We are accountable for our actions and will act ethically and honestly in all our interactions.

Respect: We honor the inherent dignity of all people within an environment where we are committed to freedom of expression, critical discourse, and the advancement of knowledge.

Service: We are responsible, individually and collectively, to give of our time, talents, and resources to promote the well-being of each other and the development of our local, regional, and global communities.

Social Justice: We have the right to be treated and the responsibility to treat others with fairness and equity, the duty to challenge prejudice, and to uphold the laws, policies and procedures that promote justice in all respects.

Mental Health Statement

Need Help?

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Sexual Assault and Violence Elimination

CSU’s Student Sexual Harassment and Violence policy, following national guidance from the Office of Civil Rights, requires that professors follow CSU policy as a “mandatory reporter” of any personal disclosure of sexual harassment, abuse, and/or violence related experiences or incidents shared with the professor in person, via email, and/or in classroom papers or homework exercises. These disclosures include but are not limited to reports of personal relational abuse, relational/domestic violence, and stalking. While professors are often able to help students locate appropriate channels of assistance on campus (e.g., see the CSU Health Network link below), disclosure by the student to the professor requires that the professor inform appropriate CSU channels to help ensure that the student’s safety and welfare is being addressed, even if the student requests that the disclosure not be shared.

For counseling support and assistance, please see The CSU HEALTH NETWORK, which includes a variety of counseling services that can be accessed at: http://www.health.colostate.edu/. And, The Sexual Assault Victim Assistance Team is a confidential resource for students that does not have a reporting requirement and that can be of great help to students who have experienced sexual assault. The web address is http://www.wgac.colostate.edu/need-help-support.

Academic Integrity

Academic misconduct (see examples below) undermines the educational experience at Colorado State University, lowers morale by engendering a skeptical attitude about the quality of education, and negatively affects the relationship between students and faculty/instructors.

Faculty/Instructors are expected to use reasonably practical means of preventing and detecting academic misconduct. Any student found responsible for having engaged in academic misconduct will be subject to academic penalty and/or University disciplinary action.

Students are encouraged to positively impact the academic integrity culture of CSU by reporting incidents of academic misconduct.

Examples of academic misconduct include (but are not limited to):

  1. Cheating – Cheating includes using unauthorized sources of information and providing or receiving unauthorized assistance on any form of academic work or engaging in any behavior specifically prohibited by the instructor in the course syllabus or class presentation.

  2. Plagiarism – Plagiarism includes the copying of language, structure, images, ideas, or thoughts of another, and representing them as one’s own without proper acknowledgment, and is related only to work submitted for credit. Also included is the failure to cite sources properly; sources must always be appropriately referenced, whether the source is printed, electronic or spoken.

  3. Unauthorized Possession or Disposition of Academic Materials – Unauthorized possession or disposition of academic materials includes the unauthorized selling or purchasing of examinations, term papers, or other academic work; stealing another student’s work; and using information from or possessing exams that an instructor did not authorize for release to students.

  4. Falsification – Falsification encompasses any untruth, either verbal or written, in one’s academic work.

  5. Facilitation of any act of Academic Misconduct – Facilitation of any act of academic misconduct includes knowingly assisting another to commit an act of misconduct.

Policy on Use of Generative AI

You may use generative AI tools (e.g., ChatGPT) as a research assistant to help you solve problems and to help you understand the concepts used in this course. However, if you choose to use such tools, you are claiming the resulting work as your own, and you bear full responsibility for its accuracy and appropriateness. In your assignments, you must disclose if AI tools were used and how. Doing so may not harm your grade; rather, it helps me guide you in using these tools effectively to enhance your grasp of the material. Remember, generative AI cannot advocate for itself or provide proper attributions; it is your responsibility to ensure integrity in your work.