Minors

Mays Business School offers Texas A&M University non-business undergraduates the opportunity to earn a minor in busi-ness. More information is available: http://mays.tamu.edu/business-minors/

AGRIBUSINESS ENTREPRENEURSHIP MINOR

Are you interested in building your resume?

Would you like to improve yourself while improving your degree—Add a minor!

There are three minors offered in the Agricultural Economics department. Minors from

Mays Business School and the Department of Economics can easily become part of your

degree program. Next year, we will have a fourth minor—one in Agrifood Sales!

See your advisor for more information or to declare.

AGEC In Review February, 2017

A minor in Economics provides knowledge and information that will

make a student a better-informed consumer and participant in the world

economy. https://econ.tamu.edu

Do you want to own your own business and be your own boss? Do you intend to rejoin a family business after graduation? Would you like to pursue employment with a bank or financial institution that funds start-up and existing businesses? Perhaps you just want to have a working knowledge of business development practices and strategies to achieve success working for an entrepreneur in either a rural or metropolitan setting. If any of these pursuits interest you, then completing this minor will help you achieve your goals! Questions should be directed to Dr. Ed Rister, by email at e-rister@tamu.edu.

Financial planning and services is one of the fastest growing sectors of our economy. The Texas A&M Financial Planning Program is a CFP Board Registered Program and students completing this program will be eligible to sit for the CFP® Certification Exam. We pride ourselves in providing knowledge that goes beyond the exam and prepares students to be competitive and skilled financial planners. For more information, please visit: financialplanning.tamu.edu.

AGEC minor

The courses required for this minor will cover the major business elements of the

agricultural industry. http://agecon.tamu.edu/

Alumni Corner — Spencer Temple

and Kenny Closs Page 2

1. Tell us the history of your business. What products do you sell – why did you choose this specific product?

Kenny and I met during our undergrad, and eventually graduated from the Agricultural Economics department with the intent on starting an aquaponics operation in New Braunfels. Before graduating, we began working at a local, small-scale operation in Bryan. One thing led to another, and we decided to partner with Sharon, one of the original owners of the operation, to create Earth Galley Farms. As Earth Galley Farms, we specialize in growing and sourcing fresh, local foods, and delivering directly to people’s houses. Our products range from organic produce, to grass-fed meats, to locally made salsas, and more. We chose to pursue this type of business because we believe it gives us the opportunity to positively affect people’s lives, as well as support local farmers and ranchers in the Bryan/College Station community.

2.What college courses prepared you in starting your business? We believe that all the courses we took through the

Agricultural Economics department, and the professors who taught those courses, have helped us get to where we are today. To be a little more specific, AGEC 424 & 425 (Rural Entrepreneurship I & II) were instrumental in leading us on the path we have taken. The course taught us, not only how to crunch numbers and assess a start-up, but how to manage our time and stress in a positive, productive manner.

3. In retrospect, what advice would you give yourself – while you were a student? Is there something that you wish you had participated in i.e. professional group, minor, study abroad or internship?

If I could go back and give my advice to myself as a student, it would be to push myself further outside of my comfort zone. Though I was active in my department during my time at A&M, I could have done more. By participating in activities on campus and in the department, I not only developed a crucial network of aspiring young professionals and faculty, but also grew as a person simply by engaging in such organizations. There is so much to experience in your short time on campus, do not let it slip by, engage your professors, meet your classmates, and enjoy the college life.

AGEC In Review

4. What advice would you give to current students to keep them focused and successful in their depart-ment? My advice to current AGEC students would be to

actively plan for you future, and stay optimistic, nothing is ever as bad as it seems in the moment.

5. What advice would you give to other students who

wish to become entrepreneurs? For students who want to become entrepreneurs,

good luck. The toughest thing about being an entrepreneur is that nothing is guaranteed, it is all dependent on how bad you are willing to work for it. Learning to cope with such uncertainty and volatility is difficult, and if you think your professors are asking a lot from you, I can assure you it pales in comparison to the level of dedication it takes to start and operate your own business. Stay humble, focused, and with enough work (and a little luck) anything is possible! Gig ‘em!

Spencer Temple of Earth Galley Farms

Kenny Closs of Earth Galley Farms

Professor Focus: Dr. Dmitry Vedenov

Scholarship Opportunities

Texas Farm Bureau devotes large amounts of money and time in develop-ing youth leadership. Annually, we award scholarships totaling almost $80,000—in a variety of different packages designed to meet different student needs, including various youth leadership organizations and students who participate in our Free Enterprise Speech Contest. Many county Farm Bureaus also offer scholarship opportunities for youth within their county. Annually, more than $100,000 in scholarships is given through county Farm Bureaus. http://texasfarmbureau.org/youth/youth-opportunities/

March 1, 2017—application deadline May 1, 2017—notification

Page 3

AGEC In Review

1. What are your research interests?

In general, my research concerns risk management in agriculture and finance. I worked on a variety of topics over the years including crop insurance, modeling of yield and price distributions, and analysis of risk management alternatives. My current research focus is on behavior of commodity prices and effectiveness of hedging. A few of my most recent projects concern with the dynamics of prices of petroleum products (crude oil, gasoline, heating oil) and the implications for companies such as oil refineries who are facing increased price risk both on their input (crude oil) and the output side (gasoline and heating oil).

2. What do you enjoy about working with students?

An opportunity to share something I’m interested in, whether it is my research, little known facts about European history, or even a proper way to cut cheese. Learning is ultimately a way to satisfy one’s curiosity, and I very much enjoy stimulating, encouraging, and satisfying that curiosity in the students.

3. What do you hope your students will achieve?

I know it’s a bit of a cliché, but I do want my students to make the best out of their opportunities and abilities. The world is changing rapidly and I have no idea where the students might end up ten or twenty years from now. But I do hope they enjoy the journey no matter what the destination, and that years from now they do not look back with regret at the time wasted.

4. What is the most important piece of advice you would give a student?

Be yourself, live your own life, not the one other people want you to live.

Page 4

Department of Agricultural Economics

Undergraduate Office

600 John Kimbrough BLVD.

Suite 214

Phone: 979-845-4911

Fax: 979-458-1755

E-mail: AgEcoUG@agecon.tamu.edu

Now is a great time to plan for summer! How are you

going to build your resume` this year?

INTERNSHIPs

STUDY ABROAD

SUMMER SCHOOL

February is the time to plan for spring and to enjoy

winter. We hope you have had a great winter and have

planned a wonderful spring!

SPRING CALENDAR: February 1: Spring 2017 Official Census Date March 6: Midterm grades due March 13-18: Spring Break April 6-22: Preregistration for Summer and Fall April 14: Reading Day, No Classes

IMPORTANT DATES

February 17: Spring Graduation Deadline-No Late Fee March 6: Midterm grades due

April 18: Last Day to Change Grade Type for KINE 198/199 April 18: Q-Drop Deadline April 18: Withdrawal Deadline April 21: Muster May 2: Last day of Classes

Regi’s Corner

Summer Plans

Agricultural Economics

AGEC website:

http://agecon.tamu.edu/

undergraduate/

undergraduate/current-

students/

May 15: Spring 2017 Final Grades Due

AGEC In Review