Business Commons^™

Turning A New Leaf: A Feasibility Study Of Converting To Organic Production Of Lettuce From A Conventional Operation, Christina Wilson

Agribusiness

This study focuses on the possible risks associated with the conversion of a farm from conventional to organic farming practices. The purpose of the study is to test the feasibility of the conversion to organic practices using lettuce as the focus crop and following the changes in a 150 acre farm's net income through a four year conversion time span. Revenues and expenses will be gained from cost and return studies and financial documents will be generated for the base year and the four year conversion period in order to generate five net incomes. The four net income that are …

Rethinking A Carbon Tax In An Era Of Budget Deficits, Chad Covert

Chancellor’s Honors Program Projects

No abstract provided.

Cost-Benefit Analysis Of Implementing Wastewater Treatment Facilities In Beer Breweries, Jaffer (Jeff) Shah-Ganai

Agribusiness

The purpose of this study was to both see the effects of wastewater on profitability as well as determine an efficient way of dealing with that wastewater. In addition to finding the most efficient way of treating wastewater, the cost of implementing such a technology was also discussed. Two technologies were specifically talked about and those were an anaerobic digester and a two stage anaerobic digester. Between the three breweries that were discussed, two of them use one of those pieces of equipment; Sierra Nevada has an anaerobic digester and Red Hook has a two stage anaerobic digester.

To analyze …

Mueller Game Bird Farm Business Plan, Karl Mueller

BioResource and Agricultural Engineering

This senior project discusses the results from the development of a business plan for Mueller Game Bird Farm which specializes in raising bobwhite quail for hunters, falconers, and other hobbyists. The plan uses current research with personal experience to develop a realistic approach to fit the needs of this business.

A business plan is a document that will continually change as the business grows and develops. This plan is for the business at the current stage of producing 500 bobwhite quail per year and discusses plans for growth over the next three years as well as strategies to obtain that …

Produce Sales Comparison During A Shelf Talker Advertising Campaign In San Luis Obispo County Grocery Stores, Maxwell Hess

Agribusiness

This consumer study was conducted to assess how effective shelf talker advertisements with nutrition related health claims are at selling fresh produce. Background research was conducted to determine the appropriate displays and FDA defined label claims. The study posted visually appealing shelf talker advertisements next to their respective produce item and compared the recorded sales a week prior to the advertising campaign to the following week with advertisements. Two separate observation periods were conducted at Spencer’s San Luis Obispo and Arroyo Grande locations after the first period in June 2011 produced a surprisingly small amount of statistically significant data. The …

Evaluation Of Capital Investment And Cash Flows For Alternative Switchgrass Feedstock Supply Chain Configurations, Jie Chen

Masters Theses

Biofuels have been widely recognized as a potential renewable energy source, and the United States’ government has been interested in producing ethanol from lignocellulosic biomass such as switchgrass. To evaluate whether lignocellulosic biomass based biofuels production is economically feasible, this paper estimated the capital investment outlays, operation costs, and net present value for investment in alternative switchgrass feedstock supply chain configurations in East Tennessee a 25 million gallon per year ethanol biorefinery. Two scenarios are analyzed in the study. The conventional hay harvest scenario includes the production, harvest, storage and transportation of biomass feedstocks from the fields to the biorefinery. …

Consolidation And Label Acquisition In The California Wine Industry, Hilary Lipoff, Gina Scurich

Horticulture and Crop Science

This paper seeks to determine whether there has been a change in consolidation and label acquisitions in the California wine industry in recent years. Reasons for consolidation and acquisition are explored, with an emphasis on the recent economic downturn and how it has effected the wine industry. Implications of these changes are further explored.

Profitability Comparison Study Of An Organic Almond Orchard Versus A Conventionally Farmed Almond Orchard In Stanislaus County, Carl B. Evers Iii

Agribusiness

This study examined the differences in costs and profitability for established conventional and organic almond orchards in Stanislaus County, California. The study used a partial budgeting approach to compare cost and profitability for established orchards for 2010, and thus ignored transition costs. Data was obtained from UC Davis cost studies for organic almonds, and from the Green Valley Ranch in Keyes, CA for conventional almonds. Adjustments were made to the U.C. Davis costs to account for changes in input use, input costs and grape prices Stanislaus County during the 2010 growing season, and to ensure both orchards in the study …

Feasibility Study For Building A Tasting Room In Napa Valley, Trevor Mitchell

Agribusiness

This study was undertaken to determine if it would be financially feasible for Altamura Winery to build and operate a wine tasting room in Napa Valley over the course of a 30 year period.

This report used a feasibility study to examine the investment of the tasting room. The study used the cost approach of valuation to value the construction costs. Then capital budgeting was used as a method to determine if the tasting room should be constructed. The capital budgeting methods of this study include the use of a cash flow budget, break-even analysis, and a net present value …

Millennial Organic Wine Consumers Of San Luis Obispo, Ca, Tadeo Perez

Agribusiness

No abstract provided.

Financial Analysis Of A Value Added Dairy Operation In California, Jason De Groot

Agribusiness

The case study was undertaken to determine whether if it is more financially profitable to become a value-added dairy business in California. This is a frequently discussed issue in agriculture, but there is not a lot of information available of how value-added facilities are doing.

This report uses two highly recognized financial reporting methods including an income statement and balance sheet to determine if the case study was financially profitable. Financial data was gathered from the enterprises, both farm and processing facility, for fiscal year 2010. The information generated made it possible to view financial income and profit for each …

Conventional And Organic Lettuce Production In San Luis Obispo County, Mark Freitas Crusha

Agribusiness

This study was undertaken to evaluate the net returns for conventional head lettuce compared to organic leaf lettuce in San Luis Obispo County. Price, yield, and costs for both lettuce systems were collected to perform a budgeting analysis projected over a twenty-year period.

Organic leaf lettuce was found to be more capable of paying finance charges and fixed commitments to produce in San Luis Obispo County. This conclusion was based on projected price and yield data along with a comparison of the profit and loss statements for the two types of lettuce for the time period of 2011 through 2030. …

Partial Budgeting Analysis Of Conventional Pump Over Versus Pulsair Cap Management System For A Large–Scale California Winery, Zachary Thomas Hicks

Agribusiness

The purpose of this project was to evaluate the financial feasibility of implementing an automated gas injection system from Pulsair as an alternative to the traditional pump over cap mixing technique that is used during the alcoholic fermentation stage of winemaking.

There were various costs involved in this project that were determined and explained through the use of the partial budgeting method. The costs that were thoroughly analyzed included equipment, labor, utility, and initial investment costs for the Pulsair system as well as the related pump over operation costs. After the two methods associated numbers were evaluated, they were then …

Cost-Benefit Analysis Of Installing Solar Panels On The Schnoor Almond Ranch, Morgan Anne Wampler

Agribusiness

This study was undertaken to determine if it would be cost-beneficial over a 30-year period to install solar panels to power the water pumps on the Schnoor almond ranch. A cost-benefit analysis was performed to determine if the investment would be financially worthwhile. The analysis included calculating the net present values of the annual cash flows along with the calculation of the internal rate of return. If the net present value proves greater than zero and the internal rate of return proves greater than the discount rate, the investment will be cost-beneficial. State and federal rebates and incentives were also …

Gow Ranch Beef Cattle Feasibility Study, Colton Jack Gow

Agribusiness

The purpose of this project was to decide the best time to sell calves on the Gow Ranch in Roseburg, Oregon. The two options are directly off the cow at 550 pounds in October or at 850 pounds in June.

The revenues and costs from selling calves at these two times were collected for the last five years. This data was put into an Excel spreadsheet to show profit and loss from each year. Both selling prices and costs were examined to show at what point to sell would have made the best profit.

Using figures from this spreadsheet it …

A Study Of The Feasibility Of Establishing A Spray And Fertilizer Equipment Outlet Store In The Paso Robles Area., Daniel C. Rodriguez

Agribusiness

The purpose of this feasibility study was to establish whether or not the proposed spray and fertilizer equipment outlet store could be opened and be profitable in the target area. The goal was to be profitable within two years of operations. Personal interviews proved to be important to estimate the preliminary budgets of the outlet store. Pertinent financial information was evaluated by proforma financials. This information proved useful as to estimate yearly profits/losses for the business and to accept or reject the author’s hypothesis.

After the study was concluded and all of the figures were evaluated by the author, it …

The Feasibility Of A New Sit-Down Restaurant In Ventura, John Wassil

Agribusiness

This study was carried out to determine whether it would be feasible to open a new restaurant in downtown Ventura. The study would also provide information on the type of restaurant and bar individuals prefer and the target market of the new restaurant.

The project’s analysis was conducted by putting together a projected income statement to determine the amount of profit that could be made in the first 3 years of the operation. To find out the preferences of Ventura’s consumers and to determine the target market a survey was conducted and analyzed.

According to the results of the analysis, …

Organic Replacement Heifer Enterprise Budget For Walker Dairy, Colton Brodt

Agribusiness

This study was undertaken to determine if Walker Dairy could raise replacement heifers cheaper than the current market price.

The main objective of this report was to calculate how much it costs Walker Dairy to raise a heifer per head. Data collected went into the development of a heifer enterprise budget and determining an average market price. Transfer value in (drop calf price), feed, labor, operating and fixed costs were all factored into the total cost per animal. Also, the data was broken into four different sections of a heifers’ life to aid management in evaluating the cost of raising …

Examining Local Consumer Interest In Selling Cal Poly Honey Online, Harrison Luce

Agribusiness

This study was undertaken to determine whether Cal Poly affiliated people were interested in purchasing Cal Poly honey online through its own web store. In addition to determining the level of interest, the target market was examined to explore how to market Cal Poly honey more effectively. The underlying objective of the project was to determine if a Cal Poly honey web store would be profitable as a honey marketing outlet in addition to current sales at stores around campus.

A survey was administered to Cal Poly affiliated people online using SurveyMonkey.com over a nine-day time period. The survey focused …

Social Media Increases Wine Sales And Consumption, Quinn Watson

Agribusiness

The purpose of this study is to research the effects that social media and marketing tools have on branding and labeling a winery and its tasting room. The goal of a specific social media resource, such as a social networking site like Facebook, is to capture the attention of young wine consumers worldwide.

This study will investigate different marketing strategies that the wine industry uses to help attract more attention to the younger wine consumer demographic. Focusing on Costa De Oro Winery in Santa Maria, California, interviews and surveys will be administrated to gather data about specific marketing strategies of …

Profitabliltiy Analysis Of A Hard Apple Cider Company, Erik R. Johnson

Agribusiness

The purpose of this paper was to determine whether a hard cider company could be profitable in San Luis Obispo, CA in a 3 year period. A business plan was created to analyze the potential profitability of the company and included an analysis of the market, competition, consumers, the industry, and finances.

Background information was provided on the history of the hard apple cider industry, the use and importance of a business plan and the permit and license requirements to run an alcohol business.

The CEO and founder of the future company, Erik Johnson, determined the company would be named …

Evaluation Of A Walnut Orchard And A Cost Study Of The Redevlopment Of A Walnut Orchard, Jacob F. Samuel

Agribusiness

A comprehensive study of the redevelopment of a walnut orchard taking into consideration all the factors from planting to harvest. Also a comparison of two orchards where orchard A is well producing and orchard B is poor producing. The study examines the value of the two orchards, where their profitabliltiy is, and whether or not the poor producing orchard should be redeveloped.

Agricultural Safety Consulting Firm Business Plan, Michael Portugal

BioResource and Agricultural Engineering

No abstract provided.