Purdue University Center for Food and Agricultural Business

10/12/2026

A new group of agribusiness leaders joined us on campus this week for Module 1 of the Syngenta Agribusiness Accelerator Program.

Through this custom executive education program, participants explored strategy, finance, marketing, leadership and supply chain management, connecting classroom discussions with real-world business challenges and opportunities.

The week also included a team-building experience at the boathouse and the kickoff of capstone projects that will help participants apply what they're learning to their work at Syngenta US.

We're excited to welcome this new cohort!

Purdue Agricultural Economics

09/02/2026

We recently welcomed another group from Universidad Austral's Master's in Agribusiness program to Purdue as part of their U.S. residency. While on campus, the group spent time with Purdue faculty discussing the U.S. farm economy, producer sentiment, leadership and digital agriculture. They also toured the Ag Alumni Seed Phenotyping Facility and Indiana Corn and Soybean Innovation Center.

From there, the group headed out to see more of U.S. firsthand, with stops at Keystone Cooperative, Beck's Hybrids and Fair Oaks before wrapping up the Purdue portion of their trip in Chicago with visits focused on commodity markets.

We always enjoy the opportunity to welcome international agribusiness leaders to Purdue and share perspectives in different parts of the world.

Thanks Universidad Austral Sede Rosario for spending part of your U.S. experience with us and to the Purdue faculty and industry partners who helped make the week possible.

Purdue Agricultural Economics Purdue Center for Commercial Agriculture

07/15/2026

A lot of great conversations happening in the classroom this week as another Precision Selling group is on campus.

Over the past two days, agribusiness sales professionals have been sharpening their approach to customer conversations, strengthening relationships and learning practical strategies to apply immediately with their customers.

Thanks to everyone who's spending the week with us. We're glad you're here, and we're excited to see what you'll do with what you've learned.

Purdue Agricultural Economics

06/30/2026

Agribusiness leaders have access to more information than ever before. The challenge isn't finding more data. The challenge is identifying the information that should change what to do next.

In the latest Purdue Agribusiness Review, Wesley Davis and Natasha Keidl explore how organizations can separate signal from noise and build economic intelligence systems that improve decision-making.

One question worth considering: What single piece of information would change your next major business decision?

Read the article:

The challenge isn't finding more data. It's identifying the information that should change what you do next.

06/23/2026

For decades, agribusiness operated under a simple assumption: more integration creates more value.

Today, that assumption deserves another look. As seeds, crop protection, biologicals and digital technologies evolve into distinct businesses, some companies are rethinking whether integration remains their greatest advantage.

In the latest Purdue Agribusiness Review, Jorge Fernández Vidal explores the changing economics of integration and what it may mean for the future structure of the agribusiness industry.

Read the article: https://hubs.ly/Q04lzSzY0

For decades, integration shaped agribusiness strategy. New restructuring decisions across the industry raise questions about when scale creates value and when focus may create more.

06/16/2026

What questions should leaders be asking right now?

The latest issue of the Purdue Agribusiness Review explores four topics shaping strategic decision-making across the food and agribusiness system:
▪️Is integration still creating value in agribusiness?
▪️Why do some innovation ecosystems struggle to collaborate?
▪️What hidden costs emerge when regulations diverge across markets?
▪️How can leaders separate meaningful signals from growing volume of available data?

brings together research, industry experience and strategic thinking to help agribusiness professionals navigate complex decisions.

Read the latest issue here: https://hubs.la/Q04lzl6q0

A practitioner-focused publication translating research, data and strategy into insights for agribusiness leaders.

05/26/2026

Selling to farmers in not just traditional B2B in a different setting.

New research from Trey Malone, Scott Downey and Zanliang Meng helps explain why. In the largest comparative study of agribusiness salespeople to date, they found that agribusiness sales professionals spend less time closing than peers in other industries.

When buying decisions are shaped by planting windows, production cycles, risk and long-term trust, generic sales assumptions can miss the mark. Managing agribusiness sales teams the same way would a conventional B2B team may mean measuring the wrong things and coaching wrong behaviors.

This research gives language and evidence to something many in agriculture have experienced for years: farm-facing markets operate differently.

For 40 years, the center has been proud to share work that helps agribusiness leaders better understand what drives performance in business-to-farm selling

Read the blog post here: https://hubs.ly/Q04hvVM80


Purdue Agricultural Economics

New research shows agribusiness sales differ from traditional B2B, with success driven by trust, technical credibility and post-sale service.

05/21/2026

Thank you to everyone who spent the week with us on Purdue's campus for Sales Management and Leadership. This week, participants explored coaching, culture-building, management strategy and people development alongside Purdue faculty and industry peers.

Purdue Agricultural Economics

05/14/2026

If you had orange juice this morning, there's a decent chance it came from Brazil. More specifically, from Cutrale, a company that processes over 3 million tons of oranges a year and ships juice around the world in tanks built directly into the hulls of ships. Wild, right?

Every year, our MS-MBA cohort travels to Brazil for their international residency, and every year they come back seeing the food system a little differently. The full recap is in a recent blog here: https://hubs.la/Q04gC5d50

04/02/2026

Agriculture is unlike any other industry. It’s full of different risks, dozens of markets and incredibly tough decisions.

Over the years, agribusiness leaders have had to solve some of the hardest managerial problems out there, and often without the kind of playbook most industries rely on.

That's what Agribusiness Blueprint is about. Hosted by Purdue agricultural economist Trey Malone and independent agricultural journalist Sarah Mock, the podcast explores how this industry actually works – through the people who built it and the ideas that shaped it.

Watch the full trailer here: https://hubs.la/Q049rqBT0.

The first episode drops next Wednesday, wherever you listen to podcasts.