Publications

October 1988
Case

Beef Industry Council: ""Beef--Real Food for Real People"" Campaign

By: Stephen A. Greyser

Keywords: Advertising Campaigns; Animal-Based Agribusiness; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry

February 1977 (Revised December 1985)
Case

Deere & Co.: Industrial Equipment Operations

By: Benson P. Shapiro

Describes the pricing of Deere's crawler tractors used in a variety of construction and industrial applications. Includes a strategic, multimillion-dollar move into the large bulldozer market as well as the pricing of tractors, accessories, and parts. View Details

Keywords: Machinery and Machining; Price; Brands and Branding; Market Entry and Exit; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; United States

April 1991 (Revised January 1997)
Case

Beatrice Companies--1985

By: David J. Collis

Describes the history of Beatrice Companies from its beginning as a dairy in 1891 to 1985, when the company was a $12 billion conglomerate. Focuses on the corporate strategies that Beatrice followed under each of its CEOs and concentrates on the company's strategic... View Details

Keywords: Corporate Strategy; Change; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry

1982
Chapter

The Capacity Expansion Process in a Growing Oligopoly: The Case of Corn Wet Milling

By: A. Michael Spence and M. E. Porter

Keywords: Plant-Based Agribusiness; Duopoly and Oligopoly; Food; Performance Capacity; Expansion; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry

2018
Book

Food Citizenship: Food System Advocates in an Era of Distrust

By: Ray A. Goldberg

The global food system is the largest segment of the world's economy. As agribusiness-studies pioneer Ray Goldberg suggests, it is also the largest health system on the planet. And it is changing fast. Its size and importance to human, environmental, and economic... View Details

Keywords: Food; System; Global Range; Health; Environmental Sustainability; Development Economics; Partners and Partnerships; Public Opinion; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry

September 2006
Case

Earthbound Farm

By: William A. Sahlman and Alison Berkley Wagonfeld

Describes a set of decisions confronting the senior management of Earthbound Farm, the largest organic produce company in the world. Focuses on what to do with an East Coast distribution center that is losing money but may be useful strategically. View Details

Keywords: Plant-Based Agribusiness; Distribution; Food; Corporate Entrepreneurship; Management Teams; Capital Budgeting; Business or Company Management; Business Strategy; Corporate Finance; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry

January 2025
Technical Note

U.S. and Global Agriculture: The Next Four Years

By: Forest Reinhardt, Sarah Dankens and Natalie Kindred

Keywords: Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; United States

20 May 2013
Op-Ed

Making America an Industrial Powerhouse Again

commercial R&D efforts by pharmaceutical, biotechnology, diagnostics, and agricultural companies. The latter was a very specific commercial bet. Placing these commercial bets requires a depth of understanding of markets and customers... View Details

Keywords: by Gary Pisano; Manufacturing

18 Apr 2018
First Look

First Look at New Research and Ideas, April 18, 2018

fifth. The global agriculture system was undergoing major changes and the standard of living in China was increasing, changing the food consumption and dietary habits of the nation's 1.3 billion people. COFCO's management needed to decide... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

19 Jul 2016
First Look

July 19, 2016

is a San Francisco–based data analytics company focused on agricultural applications. It was acquired by Monsanto in 2013. In 2015, Climate's decision support platform was used on 75 million acres of farmland in the U.S.; however, most of... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

19 Apr 2016
First Look

April 19, 2016

middle class—outweigh the challenges of operating there. And indeed, as embodied by Nigeria's status as a net food importer despite having 80 million hectares of potential agricultural land, the challenges are considerable. Animal feed is... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

November 2022
Case

Chêne Bleu: Caught in the Trade Tariff Crossfire

By: Dante Roscini, Elena Corsi and Daniela Beyersdorfer

A French wine estate faced a 25% tariff on its U.S. exports following a multi-decade-long EU-U.S. trade dispute in the aerospace industry. View Details

Keywords: Trade; Globalized Markets and Industries; Business Startups; Business Strategy; Expansion; Family Business; Distribution; Agribusiness; Taxation; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; France; United States; Europe

April 2020
Background Note

U.S. Food Retail During the Pandemic: March 2020

By: José B. Alvarez and Natalie Kindred

This note, written in late March 2020 and mainly U.S. focused, looks at the unfolding impact of the coronavirus pandemic on food retailers and their suppliers. It allows student to consider the challenges facing food retail executives as they navigate urgent supply... View Details

Keywords: Coronavirus Pandemic; Risk and Uncertainty; Risk Management; Food; Supply Chain; Consumer Behavior; Demand and Consumers; Trade; Crisis Management; Health Pandemics; Food and Beverage Industry; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Retail Industry; United States

September 1989 (Revised December 1989)
Case

Beef Hormone Trade Dispute

By: Ray A. Goldberg

Keywords: Trade; Agribusiness; Food; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry

24 Oct 2017
First Look

First Look at New Research and Ideas, October 24, 2017

https://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/item.aspx?num=53388 Intermediation in the Supply of Agricultural Products in Developing Economies By: Ferreira, Kris Johnson, Joel Goh, and Ehsan Valavi Abstract—Problem Definition: Farmers face several... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

December 2021
Case

Zoetis

By: David E. Bell, Damien McLoughlin and Natalie Kindred

Keywords: Strategy; Food; Change Management; Leadership; Diversity; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; United States

September 2023
Case

FoodCloud: Tackling Food Insecurity and Climate Change in One Bite

By: Brian Trelstad and Emer Moloney

In 2013, Aoibheann O’Brien and Iseult Ward founded FoodCloud, a non-profit social enterprise that aimed to address food waste and food insecurity issues. Through its technology platform, Foodiverse, FoodCloud connected surplus food from retailers with community groups... View Details

Keywords: Nonprofit Organizations; Expansion; Technological Innovation; Environmental Sustainability; Social Issues; Growth and Development Strategy; Green Technology Industry; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; Republic of Ireland; Europe

November 2016 (Revised March 2018)
Background Note

Note on the Impact of Millennials on the Food System

By: José B. Alvarez, James Weber and Natalie Kindred

In 2016, the millennial generation (those age 19 to 35 in 2016), the largest generation by population in the U.S., was entering its prime home buying, family forming, earning and spending years. This generation was showing different beliefs and behaviors than previous... View Details

Keywords: Millennials; Consumer Packaged Goods; Food; Age; Consumer Behavior; Agribusiness; Demographics; Values and Beliefs; Consumer Products Industry; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; United States

December 2021
Case

Bunge: Building a Sustainable Future?

By: Forest Reinhardt, David E. Bell, Pedro Levindo and Ruth Costas

Bunge, one of the world’s leading agribusiness traders and processors, strives to comply with its commitment to having a deforestation-free value chain by 2025 while it considers potential new business growth areas. After a complex turnaround, which involved one of the... View Details

Keywords: Deforestation; Value Chain; Agribusiness; Values and Beliefs; Growth and Development Strategy; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Environmental Sustainability; Financial Strategy; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry