Agribusiness Commons^™

Business Model: California Agriculture Marketing Agency, Mary M. Alameda, Emma L. Larson

Agricultural Education and Communication

The importance of creating a marketing agency specializing in agriculture is to bridge the gap between producers and consumers. The lack of transparency from the producer has created a torn industry causing the average consumer to be questioning his or her food, or simply not understanding the agricultural way of life. An agricultural marketing firm in California can represent and advocate for local businesses to start closing the producer to consumer gap.

The American farmer excels at many things, but lacks in public communications. Modern day farmers have been able to produce more food than ever despite fewer resources and …

Buchanan Hollow Nut Company Rebranding And Research, Lindsay Robson

Agricultural Education and Communication

A marketing plan was designed for Buchanan Hollow Nut Company (BHNC) in the summer of 2016 to redesign the company brand. Additionally, the author conducted research to determine if the implementation of bar codes and scanning would improve internal efficiency.

Utilizing the company’s owner, and famous artist, Sharleen Robson, the author created a tasteful watercolor design to update the logo for BHNC. Furthermore, by contacting the current packaging company, Legend Packaging Group, the author received estimated costs for adding a bar code to each product. These barcodes were then printed and added to the processing boxes in the storage facility …

Panorama Meats/Western Grassfed Beef: Better Beef, Better You, Kelsey King, Gretchen Montague, Jasmine Singh, Danielle Wood

Case Studies in Agribusiness

Western Grasslands, Inc. started in 2001, to process and market grass-fed beef. Grass fed, though about only 1% of the US beef market, is a quickly growing market. Today, WGI markets its Panorama meat through Whole Foods and other grass-fed brands on-line.

Case Study: Double J Dairy, Jay Tevelde, Chris Reeves, Holden Smith, Bradley Braun

Case Studies in Agribusiness

The case presents the history and current operations of the Double J Dairy, a large scale (milking about 4,300 cows) dairy farm in the Central Valley of California. The case discusses continuing issues with water, labor and environmental regulations.

Underwood Ranches And Huy Fong Foods: An Exclusive Relationship, Kelsey Wright, Baylie Duncan, Sierra Withrow, Bryce Yoshimoto

Case Studies in Agribusiness

The case presents Underwood Ranches, a 3rd generation farm founded in 1867, and Huy Fong Foods, a hot sauce producer know for Sriracha. Underwood was wondering if they would go under when they approached Huy Fong, a hot sauce company named after the boat on which its found escaped Vietnam. The result was a sole supplier to an innovative specialty food producer.

Grocery Outlet Bargain Market Ii, Bryan Berry, Jack Brown, Ryan Stojanovich

Case Studies in Agribusiness

The US food retail sector is discussed, and how Grocery Bargain Markets fits within that sector. Growth and expansion plans are discussed, with emphasis on the growing Hispanic market in the Los Angeles area.

Tolosa Vineyards, Adam Cox, Thomas Niland, Jonny Pottorff, Morgan Brahms

Case Studies in Agribusiness

The case presents the history of Tolosa Vineyards and its place in the US wine industry. In particular, the case discusses how wineries replaced cattle in the Edna Valley outside San Luis Obispo, CA, and how a small (under 25,000 cases annually) winery can position its wines and marketing, with a change from distribution to hospitality.

Target: The Epic Search For Equilibrium, Delaney Ainsworth, Jonathan Galvez, Austin Ketchersid, Carson Stone

Case Studies in Agribusiness

Target's expansion into food retailing is discussed, along with market share of competitors and future growth plans.

Measuring The Success Of The Emo Western States Championship Horse Show, Alison Mae Einolander

Agricultural Education and Communication

The purpose of this project was to determine whether or not the 2016 EMO Western States Championship Show was successful, and analyze if it should become an annual event. In this project, survey data and analysis pertaining to the 2016 Inaugural EMO Western States Championship Show will be found.

Photovoltaic Cooking In The Developing World, Tyler Watkins, Christopher O'Day, Omar Arriaga

Mechanical Engineering

The challenge of clean cooking is faced by hundreds of millions of people worldwide. We present a cooking technology consisting of a solar panel directly connected to an electric heater in a well-insulated chamber. Assuming continued decrease in solar panel prices, we anticipate that in a few decades Solar Electric Cooking technologies will be the most common cooking technology for the poor. Appropriate use of insulation reduces the power demand making low-power Insulated Solar Electric Cooking systems already cost competitive.

Grocery Outlet Bargain Market, Mitchell Comstock, Michael Maggipinto, Brendan Mcintosh, Lukas Oswald

Case Studies in Agribusiness

The history of Grocery Outlet Bargain Market is presented, from its start selling government surplus canned goods in San Francisco, to its present 299 stores concentrated mostly on the west coast, but with 18 stores in Pennsylvania. The case discusses two of Grocery Outlet’s distinguishing traits: opportunistic buying and independent operators. Challenges, competition and future opportunities are presented.

Fernjo Farms Case Study, Michelle Cheda, Luis Trujillo, Lauren Ott, Andrew Lucchesi

Case Studies in Agribusiness

The history of Fernjo Farms is similar by many California dairy farms. It was started by a Portuguese immigrant from the Azores in the 1920s, who milked someone else’s cows for decades before he had saved enough to start his own farm. Today, Fernjo Farms milks 3,500 cows on three operations, and is expanding into permanent crops such as almonds and pistachios. The case explores the California dairy industry and challenges such as labor and regulations. Given current dairy costs and returns, Fernjo Dairy is considering other enterprises or moving.

Dewey Farms, Jeff Brown, Nick Vandendriesse, Joey Thomas, Lucas Zender

Case Studies in Agribusiness

Dewey Farms is a 150 year old family farming operation, located 12 miles east of Sacramento, CA. Their primary crop is pistachios, 90% of which they sell though Paramount Farms, one of the largest farm operations in the world. The case discusses the pros and cons of contracting with Paramount, and the options Dewey Farms has for the future.

Grocery Outlet Bargain Market I, Mitchell Comstock, Michael Maggipinto, Brendan Mcintosh, Lukas Oswald

Case Studies in Agribusiness

Grocery Outlet Bargain Markets has grown from a single store in San Francisco, offering low cost government surplus canned goods to 100 stores and over $1 billion in sales. The chain focuses on opportunistic buying of over runs and discontinued stock, which allows it charge low prices.

Dohi Farms, Christopher Callahan, Bryan Jimenez, Greg Moxley

Case Studies in Agribusiness

Dohi Farms is a two-generation family farm in the Central Coast of California, a major vegetable and specialty crop producing region for the US market. Major issues Dohi Farms contends with include water availability and quality, labor and changing markets.

Farming: From The Ground Up, Brock Becker, Max Burt, Michael Gardner

Case Studies in Agribusiness

With half of all current farmers expected to retire within 10 years and entry-level farmers decreasing 30% since 1987, it appears we need to encourage new, entry-level farmers. This case study tracks how a young farmer started his business and the decisions and issues he dealt with along the way. Decisions discussed include whether to rent or lease land, and possible crop-share arrangements, offering custom operations as a way generate revenue and obtain equipment, crop selection and using labor contractors versus in-house labor.

Beach Hut Deli Case Study, Chris Mangiola, Seth Sobottka, Lauren Yien, Megan Fox

Case Studies in Agribusiness

Beach Hut Deli Case Study describes the origin, development and growth of a quick service restaurant in Granite Bay, CA, which has now expanded to 35 locations in California, Reno, and Las Vegas with plans to expand into the Pacific Northwest. The case discusses in-house and external marketing, menu development and franchising options and issues.

Just Desserts, Daniel Dentoni, Eric Griffen, Jimmy Pallios, Zane Westmoreland

Case Studies in Agribusiness

Just Desserts started at a San Francisco café in 1974 with a premium line of hand-crafted desserts. It moved to Oakland in 2001 to increase its production, only to bankrupt in 2003. It was saved by a group of investors who hired professional, experienced manage, with Michael Mendez becoming CEO in 2012. Mendez moved into organics, revamped packaging, and has grown the company.

Talley Farms Fresh Harvest: Excellence In Everything, Brandon Berguia, Emily Ormonde, Erin Van Grouw, Lance Van Grouw

Case Studies in Agribusiness

Talley Farms is a 3rd generation produce farm in the California Central Coast. Always looking for new ways to add value to their operations, they decided to see about community supported agriculture (CSA), an idea brought to the US from Switzerland and Japan in the 1980s. A CSA has subscribers who sign up to receive a box of produce on a regular basis. Decisions for Talley included what to put in the box, how to deliver it, sources of produce and how to market.

Establishing A Brand: How To Create A Household Name For A Wine Brand Through Social Media And Image, Megan Rodrigues

Journalism

This paper was conducted as a Senior Project for the Journalism Department at California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo, California during a 10 week quarter. This paper explores the topic of wine branding through social media and image. The research for this paper consisted of interviews with three experts that are currently working in the wine industry as well as a literature review of several articles and books that support the topic. The questions that arose about wine branding, brand recognition, social media, wine label and image during the literature review were then asked to the three experts: …

Bolthouse Farms Case Study, Garret Powell, Brett Banducci, Anna Greene

Case Studies in Agribusiness

The history, growth and current operations of Bolthouse Farms is presented, with a discussion of carrot growing, processing and marketing.

Kiler Ridge Olive Oil Farm, David Ayala, Martin Andersen, Rudy Raimondi

Case Studies in Agribusiness

Gregg Bone, a Cal Tech trained engineer, is a serial entrepreneur who has started 13 successful businesses, mostly in the tech industry. After a bicycle trip through Tuscany, his wife Audrey wanted to plant 40 olive trees in their backyard, which Gregg thought would be an expensive hobby. Better to plant 835 trees on a 58 acre property near Paso Robles, CA, in 2010. Five years later Gregg modified and installed an Italian olive mill for his own olives and as a custom crush operation. As a craft olive oil business, they marketing similarly to how neighboring wineries market their …

Regional Wine Reputation: How It Influences Trade And Consumer Purchasing Behavior, Joseph Bernard Ostrander

Master's Theses

ABSTRACT

Regional Wine Reputation: How It Influences Trade

and Consumer Purchasing Behavior

Joseph Bernard Ostrander

What are wine trade buyers and wine consumers willing to pay for a bottle of wine based on the reputation of the grape growing region apart from existing corporate branding reputation, variety popularity, or accolades from industry periodicals and celebrity wine critics? Results from a previous study discovered how attitudes about place-of-origin influenced consumer perceptions regarding the quality associated with the wines from that region. Related research also looked at how wine prices depended on the quality associated with a wine region’s reputation when linked …

Fruit And Vegetable Consumption Of College Students: What Is The Role Of Food Culture?, Christiane Schroeter, Lisa A. House

Agribusiness

Our primary objective is to assess the role of culture by linking college students’ current consumption of fruits and vegetables with their produce consumption levels while with family. Using a Tobit model, we analyzed data from an online survey with college students. Family consumption of fruits was highly predictive of the individual’s consumption of fruits. For each unit increase in the reported consumption of fruits (vegetables) with the family, the respondents’ fruit (vegetable) consumption at school increased by 0.65 (0.30) units compared to the base consumption level of 1.95 (1.82) times of fruit intake per day.

Headstart Nursery: Rooted In Quality, Luis Alonzo, Michael Joyce, Clinton Loomis, Doug Kaplan

Case Studies in Agribusiness

Growers can more efficiently use their land if they grow from transplants than from seed. Headstart Nursery started in 1979 to supply Christopher Ranch, well-known for their garlic products, with bell pepper transplants. Since then, Headstart expanded their transplant line to other Salinas Valley crops and even flowers. Transplants are labor intensive; Headstart has been innovative with their human resource management policies and practices.

Driscoll's: The Global Brandje, Jesus Morales, Edgar Lopez, Noah Lilien, Jack Stradley

Case Studies in Agribusiness

With a mission “to continually delight berry consumers”, Driscoll’s is the arguably the world’s largest berry company. They started as strawberry breeders, expanded in raspberries, blueberries and blackberries, and have been leaders in packaging and marketing of berries. They do not grow berries for market, but develop the nursery stock, which they provide to their growers, and market the output. They also provide theirs growers with advice and guidance on issues ranging from sustainable growing practices to labor management.

House Of Bread Case Study, Audrey Butler, Danica Cramer Danica Cramer, Mackenzie Thesman, Alicia Warren

Case Studies in Agribusiness

Sheila McCann became bored with her public defender job and decided to open her own business. She made a list what she wanted from a business and came to open House of Bread. She uses high quality ingredients and stresses the craft nature of her small batch baking. With her San Luis Obispo store running well, she looked for where else she would like to live and settled on Truckee, CA, known for its outdoor activities. With this new store she is exploring franchising.

Shanley Farms: Premium Produce That People Care About, Maggie Andrada, Bryce D’ Arelli, Melissa Gurvis

Case Studies in Agribusiness

When Jim Shanley retired from an executive position with a large commodity and feed company, he bought avocado farms in Morro Bay and Visalia. He soon expanded into Finger Limes and innovative marketing of his avocados.

Head Start Nursery: Rooted In Quality, Luis Alonzo, Michael Joyce, Clinton Loomis, Doug Kaplan

Case Studies in Agribusiness

Headstart Nursery started as a supplier of bell pepper transplants to Christopher Ranch, a large produce company in Gilroy, CA. Their first season was so successful they decided to expand their offerings to other produce transplants and even flowers. Today they are a large transplant supplier of both conventional and organic produce.

Driscoll's: The Global Brand, Jesus Morales, Edgar Lopez, Noah Lilien, Jack Stradley

Case Studies in Agribusiness

How Driscoll's grew to become the world's largest berry marketer is presented.