Course Syllabi | Academic at CAES

AAEC 3010 - Farm Organization & Management

"Using Economic Principles to make better informed decisions of individual alternative courses of action andto improve farm income".

William Givan
Spring 2003
208 Conner Hall

Overview of Agriculture, Georgia & U.S.
Cost Concepts

Variable, Fixed, Opportunity, Profit, Cash Flow

Enterprise Budgets
- Crop, Animal, Perennial (Long Term)
- Depreciation, Interest on Annual Investment
- Machinery Costs -- Fixed, Repairs, Maintenance, Labor
Cash Flow - Features, Uses, Monitoring, Profitability
Balance Sheet - Purpose, Use, Owner Equity

Valuation of Assets, Capital Gains

Income Statement - Cash vs Accrual
Farm Legislation - Evolution, Basic Crops, Supply Control,
- Price Support, Overproduction
- 1996 Bill
- 2002 Bill
Investment Analysis
- Evolution of Money
- Types of Loans, Interest Rates
- The Cost of Money
- Time Value of Money
- Establishing Credit
Farm Organization - Sole Proprietorship, Partners, Corporation
Land Control & Use - Own, Rent, Rental Agreement

Is Land a Good Investment?

Taxes -- (Income - Federal, State)
- Principles of Taxation - Income, Costs, Taxable Income
- Capital Gains
- Sales Taxes

Course materials are created by the instructor and are designed to lend support to class discussions. These include explanations of various topics covered and include problems to make the concepts covered be applicable to real world situations. Materials are presented by lectures, visual aids, computer analyses and class discussion. Some class periods are used primarily to work on assigned problems.

Three one-hour exams and a final exam are included. The exam with the lowest grade is dropped and the final grade is weighted: 30% for each of two hour exams and 40% for the final exam.

Attendance is checked frequently. The students' advisor is contacted if absence is excessive.

Absence from exams may not be avoidable. When this occurs, the student can count the missed exam as the one for which the low grade is dropped.