Nation’s Only MBA Degree with Minor in Sustainable Ag Offered

Students at Iowa State University (ISU) have the opportunity to earn a Master of Business Administration (MBA) with a minor in sustainable agriculture – the first degree of its kind at a land-grant institution – as a result of the Value Chain Partnership for a Sustainable Agriculture (VCPSA) project.

The ISU College of Business offers a graduate assistantship working with the VCPSA project for students interested in pursuing the degree. The university recently enrolled its second graduate student pursuing the degree, which is a collaboration of the university’s College of Business, the VCPSA project, and the College of Agriculture’s graduate program in sustainable agriculture.

“As students, the MBA candidates will work with researchers and VCPSA working groups to address real-world challenges,” says Rich Pirog, project director with the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture at Iowa State University. “As graduates, they’ll help shape sustainable agriculture business models across the nation.”

Iowa State University’s VCPSA project is building new food supply networks for sustainably raised Iowa foods. Through the formation of three working groups, the Pork Niche Market Working Group, the Regional Food Systems Working Group and the Bioeconomy Working Group, the project is making the entire food production, processing and distribution network – the value chain – more collaborative to reward mid-size farmers who follow production practices using the highest standards of environmental and community stewardship. 

For more information, visit www.valuechains.org.