MBA with minor in sustainable agriculture program

In 2003 the Value Chain Partnerships for a Sustainable Agriculture (VCPSA) project partnered with Iowa State University's MBA program in the College of Business and the Graduate Program in Sustainable Agriculture in the College of Agriculture to develop a new sustainable agriculture minor for the MBA program. The rationale for this new minor was the increasing need to integrate business skills with an understanding and appreciation of sustainability issues in agriculture. Students in the program are required to complete all the required core courses for the MBA program and 12 credit hours in the sustainable agriculture graduate program.

The first student in the program began in the fall of 2003; a second student began the program in fall 2004 and three additional students entered the program in fall 2005. All of these students received quarter or half-time assistantships from the Kellogg Foundation-funded VCPSA project, the ISU Colleges of Agriculture and Business, or the Leopold Center. The SYSCO Corporation and a donation from the CEO of the SYSCO Corporation also provided funding for assistantships. All students are assigned to work with one of the VCPSA working groups; conducting market research, case studies, and other duties to help address various challenges of farmers and businesses that are part of the working groups.

Rich Pirog
Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture
Phone: 515.294.1854
Email: rspirog@iastate.edu