Publications

December 2002 (Revised May 2003)
Case

Fonterra: Taking on the Dairy World

By: Ray A. Goldberg and Jose M. M. Porraz

Fonterra was a cooperatively owned dairy company--New Zealand's largest company and the world's largest exporter of dairy products. To maintain its leadership, Fonterra had to respond to increased competition, new consumer tastes, consolidation of its customers, and... View Details

Keywords: Cooperative Ownership; Animal-Based Agribusiness; Trade; Global Strategy; Food; Business Model; Developing Countries and Economies; Competitive Strategy; Demand and Consumers; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; New Zealand

December 2001 (Revised January 2002)
Case

Nestle S.A.

By: Ray A. Goldberg and Hal Hogan

Peter Brabeck wants to focus Nestle as a wellness company in the global food system and do so in a way that provides both growth in sales and margins in both developed and developing countries. View Details

Keywords: Brands and Branding; Product Development; Supply Chain Management; Food; Multinational Firms and Management; Business Growth and Maturation; Sales; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Switzerland

May 1985 (Revised February 1990)
Case

American Food and Grains: Commodity and Ingredient Procurement

By: David A. Garvin

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

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

December 2019
Supplement

Mãe Terra and Unilever (B)

By: Lynn S. Paine, Ruth Costas and Mariana Cal

Unilever is making strides to integrate the operations of Mãe Terra—one of Brazil's leading brands for packaged organic foods—into its own structures, after acquiring the company in 2017. Mãe Terra’s CEO, Alexandre Borges, must decide whether to implement his original... View Details

Keywords: Brand Management; Sustainability; Mergers and Acquisitions; Mission and Purpose; Social Enterprise; Corporate Governance; Governing and Advisory Boards; Environmental Sustainability; Organizational Culture; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Brazil; Latin America

December 2019 (Revised June 2021)
Case

Mãe Terra and Unilever (A)

By: Lynn S. Paine, Ruth Costas and Priscilla Zogbi

The case concerns the sale of Mãe Terra, one of Brazil's leading brands for packaged organic foods, to the consumer goods giant Unilever in 2017. Working with Unilever management, Mãe Terra’s CEO Alexandre Borges must determine whether and how to keep Mãe Terra's B... View Details

Keywords: Mergers ＆ Acquisitions; Brand Management; Sustainability; Mergers and Acquisitions; Mission and Purpose; Social Enterprise; Corporate Governance; Governing and Advisory Boards; Environmental Sustainability; Organizational Culture; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Brazil; Latin America

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

12 Sep 2011
Research & Ideas

The Untold Story of ‘Green’ Entrepreneurs

In the 1920s, on pitch black nights in rural eastern Montana, the farmhouse owned by the parents of brothers Marcellus and Joe Jacobs stood out for one reason: it had light, although located far from power lines and gasoline supplies. It was a beacon in the dark that... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

December 1961 (Revised January 1994)
Case

Plowman Poultry Farm

By: Samuel L. Hayes III

A poultry farmer wanted to expand production greatly and sought a large extension of his line of credit from his bank in addition to his existing loan on which he had not made payment. The Board of Directors must review a detailed account of events leading to this... View Details

Keywords: Governing and Advisory Boards; Animal-Based Agribusiness; Expansion; Decision Choices and Conditions; Financing and Loans; Commercial Banking; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry

December 2016 (Revised February 2020)
Case

Elders Limited

By: Forest L. Reinhardt and Dawn H. Lau

Keywords: Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Australia

November 2016 (Revised March 2017)
Case

Godrej Agrovet Ltd (GAVL)

By: Jose B. Alvarez, Anjali Raina and Rachna Chawla

Nadir Godrej, chairman, and B. Yadav, managing director of Godrej Agrovet Ltd (GAVL), grapple with the challenge of growing their cattle feed business—should they integrate vertically despite the challenges of the dairy industry and risk the profitability of the... View Details

Keywords: Agribusiness; Animal-Based Agribusiness; Vertical Integration; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; India

December 2016 (Revised April 2019)
Case

Rice in Japan

By: Forest Reinhardt, Gunnar Trumbull, Naoko Jinjo and Mayuka Yamazaki

Keywords: Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Japan

December 2015 (Revised February 2017)
Case

Unigrains

By: David E. Bell and Natalie Kindred

Unigrains is a French agribusiness-focused private equity firm that has provided specialized financing to France's agribusiness sector for decades and, as a result, cultivated a strong reputation and relationships in that space. Now that the broader investment... View Details

Keywords: Change Management; Private Equity; Competitive Advantage; Agribusiness; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; France

October 2015
Case

Clearwater Seafoods

By: Forest L. Reinhardt

Clearwater sought to market value-added shellfish products in a traditionally commodities based industry, while facing supply uncertainties and regulatory, environmental, and foreign exchange challenges. Clearwater harvested lobsters, clams, scallops, shrimp, and other... View Details

Keywords: Agribusiness; Profit; Goods and Commodities; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Product Marketing; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Environmental Sustainability; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Canada