Virginia Rudibaugh

AgriBusiness Study Tour

Dr. Ashley Lovell

Reflection
Within the Discipline
I found that the AgriBusiness Study Tour was an interesting and informative.
The tour helped me to see a correlation with my university courses and real life
situations. At every stop in the tour from Sorrells Farm and Nuthouse to Sid Miller
the Texas Agriculture Commissioner they all showed uses of Sales and services. In
my Sales and Services course I learned you need determination, self-motivation,
intelligence, articulateness, appearance, diplomacy, honesty, and enthusiasm.
These characteristics were also greatly emphasized my marketing and management
courses without these characteristics businesses and government cannot run. In
having these characteristics businesses and people running for government position
they are more likely to be supported or sought out after. When it came to
Management courses all the stops from the farms and dairies to government they
all expressed that you need happy employees or else the company/government will
run sufficiently. Like in Michael Angelos frozen Italian dinners they want to maintain
a happy worker so their factory line runs smoothly so the product can get to the
customers.
What was most in in the tour was that economic factors where everywhere
too. For instance boot prices are affected by cattle prices due to costs of hides going
up or trade prices; when Justin boots started having their boots made in Mexico it
helped boot price to stay steady because of decreased costs in labor. I was not sure
how my agricultural business degree fit in with boot outside of leather but I soon
realized that International economics and marketing were also courses that related
to the industry of boots.
Michael Angelos is also greatly affected by different economic factors such
as market, agriculture, competitors and tastes and preferences. The market is
changing for customer preference so because Michael Angelos is catering to the
customers and has stayed profitable compared to other competing brands.
At both the Sorrells Farm and Nuthouse and Brennan Winery and Vineyard
agronomy, management, marketing and economic were all visible to see. In the
study of agronomy soil and plant conditions are big factors. If the soil does not have
the right nutrition and water saturation plant can die. Protection of plants is another
key factor if the insects and wildlife are not maintained they could destroy crops, so
step to protect are put in place. Sorrells Farms used a type of moth trap on their

pecan trees that helps them to identify increases in moth populations. When the
population increases then Sorrells Farms sprays for the moths to protect pecan
crops. Brennan Winery and Vineyard also has to be on the lookout for destructive
insects and deer. They built high fences and also have insect traps to monitor insect
populations.
Both companies use an array of marketing strategies to reach their
customers. They use branding, word of mouth, internet advertising, etc. Sorrells
Farms is well known for its pecans which can be purchased in any United Super
Market or ordered direct. Brennan Winery and Vineyard also do taste testings which
gives consumers a chance to try it before buying it.
Beyond the Discipline
Bloomer Trailer for is great example of Marketing too; Mr. Bloomer was
working for a trailer company that didnt cater to its customers. So Mr. Bloomer
started his own company Bloomer Trailers, they listen to customer needs and
complaints to improve their product and make customers happy. By doing so
Bloomer has stayed steady in the trailer market and has continued to be profitable
even after a recession in the United States which affected competitors in which
Bloomer decided to cut back production in order to stay with reduced demand.
Sanderson Farms chicken was affected by International economic trade in
which was also affected by an micro economics of bird flu. The bird flu outbreak in
the United States caused China to cease imports of chicken products. Sanderson
Farms before the bird flu outbreak would export chicken feet and a few other parts
of the chicken that are preferred in China but do to China not buying these chicken
parts, Sanderson Farms lost some revenue but found another means of distribution.
Sanderson Farms sells the chicken pieces that they cannot export to rendering
plants to make other products like plastic.
Beyond Academics
I grew up on a small horse and cattle ranch knowledge and experiences wide
and far. I have worked out of state several times and have made some interesting
and international connections On my familys ranch we work with the public training
horses and selling feed and hay. Many of my courses I have taken such as
economics, marketing, management, and sales and services. There are several
economic factors that can affect our ranches production like when there was a
recession we got fewer customers sending us horses to train and sell because they
could not afford to. Then when the horse killer plants were shut down the horse
market crashed causing the amount of horses in the United State to increase while
demand stayed constant.
When we would go to rodeos or post pictures on Facebook those are forms of
advertising which is talked a lot about in marketing courses and sales & services

courses. Then when we sell horses or cattle it is in the best interest of our company
to manage the herds and market our brand which is the seven double slash. These
are also forms of management.
During the AgriBusiness Tour I found that like my familys business, H.E.B
Central Markets goal is to give the customer the best experience when doing
business with them. Like anyone who goes to the store they want the best product
for a reasonable price with the best service. H.E.B Central Market in my experience
has all the qualities of a good reputable store that I would recommend to anyone
and certainly go back to.
Interconnectedness
What really struck me about all the businesses in the tour and my own
experiences with economics, management, marketing, and all the courses I have
taken in school is that everything is interconnected in some shape or form. Such as
Holt AgriBusiness they supply farm equipment and road equipment which helps
farmers like Sorrells Farms, Hidden View Dairy, and Brennan Winery and Vineyard
grow, harvest or transport their products to the distributors like H.E.B Central
Market or manufacturers. Then Michael Angelos frozen Italian dinner are just as
interconnected which gets its ingredients from farmers and then sells their products
to grocery stores including H.E.B Central Market.
Global Awareness
When it comes to being biases, I am pretty bias about where my fresh
produce comes from because some produce is out of season in my area. So it only
makes sense to import fresh produce from different places. Unfortunately local
farmers like Sorrells Farms sadly have a disadvantage in the market. However, it is
pretty interesting to get to see local farmers and dairies like Hidden View Dairy.
Im not supper keen on frozen dinners so when we went to Michael Angelos, I
stereotyped the products before I had gotten to try them. I have gotten competing
products and I didnt like them. But after sampling Michael Angelos meals my
stereotype changes to; they are good and I would buy it. I also was not sure how a
frozen food factory could be connected to my degree the way it was. Although, I do
not want to work in a food factory it is an available area that connects with
AgriBusiness.
Chickens, chickens, chickens, Sanderson Farm chicken I assumed was just like
any other chicken that a person can buy at the store but after listening to our host, I
realize they are not. They do not fill their meats with salts and chemicals which
prolong the storage life of the meat. Sanderson Farm believes in providing their
consumers with the freshest and chemical free meat which is healthier for
consumers.

Broader Implications
Due to NAFTA and WTO in some shape or form all businesses and Texas and
local government are affected. Chinas band on chicken from the United States
because of the bird flu is a global impact. Then ports on the west coast of the United
States have closed exporting for the United States and other countries are unable to
get products that they want from the United States, which was discussed about at
H.E.B Central Market. This affects supply and demand of every product that is
affected by this closure. H.E.B Central Market also discussed how wild salmon
populations are staying steady but in the future consumers are more likely to be
buying farm raised salmon, due to unexplained reduction in wild populations, which
is another supply and demand scenario.
If it was not for demand and supply in every economics classes the
businesses that were on the tour would not know how much to produce, when to
stop producing, or at what price to set their products at. Economics is a big part of
every business and with a better understanding of it I hope to use it someday to
benefit the future company I will work for and better to run my ranch.