Undergraduate Program - Farm Management

Introduction

Requirements

8-Semester Plan

Studies in Farm Management*

Students in the Farm Management concentration in the Department of Agricultural and Consumer Economics study the principles of economics, finance, risk, and the decision making process all central to the successful management of farms. Students develop skills to combine and manage land, labor, and capital resources for a competitive return. Students choose professional farm management, direct management, or both. Students may also learn how to appraise farmland and other assets. Farm and other asset appraisal is a growing and important part of professional farm management or can be pursued as a profession in itself.

Career Opportunities

Students prepare to manage farms as owners, tenants, or employees; to work as professional farm managers for off site owners; to work in real estate appraisal, which requires state certification. The Farm Management concentration offers several courses approved for state certification.

One farm management student transferred to the University of Illinois after two years at a community college. His goal was to work close to production agriculture, through farm management at a bank or at a farm management firm. He served as an intern at his local bank and worked shoulder to shoulder with the bank's farm management staff and the farmers they worked with. "I saw how the farm manager's knowledge and experience can make the most for the landowner and the farmer. My courses in farm management laid the groundwork for my internship, and that experience helped me decide which classes to take my senior year marketing, rural appraisal, finance and accounting, for example. Farm management demands expertise in all these areas."

For more information please contact:
Dr. John B. Braden
304 Mumford Hall
1301 West Gregory Drive
Urbana, Illinois 61801
Phone (217)333-1811
Fax (217)333-5538
jbb@illinois.edu

More details are provided in the ACES Student Handbook.

The University of Illinois provides equal opportunity in programs and employment.

*This curriculum is available effective Fall 2006. The information provided herein is correct to the best of our knowledge as of May 2006. Specific requirements may change as programs and courses evolve. Students considering applying may contact the Department of Agricultureal and Consumer Economics for the most current information.