A Big Year for Food and Ag

COB faculty are building a strong foundation in food and agribusiness as the College develops a new major.

In the works for the upcoming academic year: a brand-new major within the College of Business focused on all things food and ag. e new AgriBusiness & Food Innovation (AGBZ) major aims to prepare students to be leaders in the agribusiness and food realm.

AGBZ students will take 13 agribusiness speci c courses along with prerequisites and a series of electives depending on their areas of interest. AGBZ—in partnership with the Henze Ag Initiative—is also the rst major within the COB to require an internship.

anks to the diverse array of faculty members who specialize in ag-related topics, AGBZ students have the opportunity to take courses from multiple disciplines—from marketing to nance to international business.

“It’s really across the whole College of Business,” says program director Dr. Shane Bowyer. “More and more faculty are looking at how they can add food and ag into their coursework as well.”

Faculty Focus on Food & Ag

Across the COB, faculty are displaying their focus on the growing food and agribusiness industries.

While the connection between accounting and agriculture may not be immediately apparent, Dr. Kris Rosacker sees them as highly linked. e assistant professor of Accounting was raised on a dairy farm and has long been interested in farm and ranch taxation. She recently spent her sabbatical year developing a new summer course for Master of Accounting (MAcc) students titled Farm Estate and Business Planning. e course examines essential principles of estate and gi taxation, which impact intergenerational property transfers.

“During my sabbatical I completed several continuing education classes with universities in Minnesota, Iowa and South Dakota,” she says. “ is gave me the opportunity to talk with a range of farm and ranch tax professionals about the MAcc program and the MAcc Tax Certi cate. As well as seek their input regarding the class I was developing.”

Dr. Chandu Valluri joined the COB faculty in 2019. e professor of Marketing came in with a trove of real-world experience that consistently bene ts students, including his Indian-inspired meal delivery service Infuzn. Since February 2021, Valluri and Infuzn co-founder Dr. Ananth (Andy) Kollengode have been sharing their passion for food education as peer group facilitators with other Southern Minnesota food entrepreneurs through a yearlong program sponsored by the Southern Minnesota Initiative Foundation (SMIF) and Rochester Area Economic Development Inc. (RAEDI). Each month the Founder Food Peer Group gathers to explore and learn from one another. Valluri has also served as a guest speaker in the Basics of Entrepreneurship course and most recently as a panelist in the So You Want to Start a Food Business Panel Discussion organized by Collider last month.

As an entrepreneur and innovator in the food space, Valluri is looking forward to supporting the College as it expands food and ag opportunities for students.

“ e COB’s new major will engender exciting new opportunities for our students by deepening our existing relationships but also developing new partnerships to serve the growing demand for food and agribusiness needs in the region,” says Valluri. “By having a more formal and focalized curriculum encompassing both traditional as well as experiential elements, students will be able to select concentration areas that will enable them to develop the specialized skills that are most pertinent to industry employers today.”

Dr. Maria Kalyvaki has an extensive background in agricultural research. She holds degrees in precision agriculture and agriculture education and communications.

“I am primarily interested in nding the skills that agribusinesses value the most [in] potential employees and how higher education serves those. When I talk to agricultural and food businesses, I hear them talking about looking for candidates that, apart from theoretical knowledge, have applied expertise, and I would like to explore that further and create more opportunities for experiential learning for our students.”

Kalyvaki recently moved from the Mass Communication department into Marketing. She is developing courses that focus on digital marketing and agribusiness with signi cant experiential and international components.

“ e new Agribusiness degree will contribute to shaping the new workforce that will help further the ag and food industry of the area,” she says. “Additionally, because of the signi cant international faculty and student population that Minnesota State Mankato attracts and the global approach that the University serves, it is expected to see graduates that will have leadership roles in domestic and international markets.”