Summer 2014 Newsletter
The Kansas State University Global Food Systems Initiative
Extension Centennial: The Next 100 Years
Retirements: A tribute to Bob Burton and Orlen Grunewald
Alumni Spotlight: Kevin Saunders
Elizabeth Hund: A Global Perspective
2014 Study Abroad: China and England/Scotland
Student Achievements
Alumni Achievements
Faculty Achievements
Department Updates
Alumni and Scholarship Banquet September 26, 2014
Foundation Update
From the Desk of Allen Featherstone
The summer is certainly fleeting. As you read this, a new group of students will be on campus beginning their first semester. The Department of Agricultural Economics prepared for the fall semester by enrolling new freshman and transfer students during the summer, revising and updating courses, as well as progressing on research and outreach programs. We welcome a record number of 119 new undergraduates to the department. This recruitment will lead to a record enrollment in the department of about 500 undergraduates. The job market continues to be strong with the latest information indicating a placement rate of nearly 97 percent with the average starting salary approaching $45,000.
Change continues within Waters Hall. We have two searches that are nearing resolution and searches for four other positions that are just in the beginning stages. Two of the approved positions will focus on delivering outreach programs in production agriculture, with at least one of the positions having a focus on water. Another position will focus on undergraduate teaching with the goal of providing additional course offerings at the junior/senior level to allow smaller class sizes with the increased enrollment. The final position will focus on the global food system as we prepare our graduates to lead the industry in feeding an ever increasing global population.
The department is preparing for extension education programs on the new Farm Bill as the rules are finalized. The department also has been preparing for the Risk and Profit conference, Ag Lenders conferences, along with many other programs focusing on land economics, farm management, crop insurance, livestock and grain marketing, agricultural labor issues, agricultural cooperatives, local government, and community development. With the significant decreases in crop prices, the economic landscape of production agriculture is changing quickly, for the better of those involved in livestock and for the worse of those in crop production.
Faculty members have been actively involved in research via attracting grant funds and publishing their research in prestigious journals. Assistant Professor Nathan Hendricks recently published an article in the American Journal of Agricultural Economics that examined the effect on crop production due to the updating of base acres.
Several faculty members and students have received recognition from university or professional associations for their outstanding contributions. Brian Briggeman received the Agricultural and Applied Economics Association (AAEA) Outstanding Undergraduate Teaching Award for those with less than 10 years of experience. Melissa McKendree won the AAEA Graduate Student Extension Competition and the team of Michelle Estes, Emily Mollohan, and Steven Ramsey won the AAEA Graduate Case Study Competition. The Case Study Team was coached by assistant professor Aleksan Shanoyan.
We would love to hear about your career and family developments and share them in upcoming issues of our quarterly E-Newsletter. Please email me at afeather@ksu.edu with information you would like to share with your fellow alumni.
Dr. Allen Featherstone,
Department Head, Professor, Master of Agribusiness Program Director
Global Food Systems: Economics at hand
Feeding a need: University launches a new initiative
When Kansas State University President Kirk Schulz announced to the Kansas Board of Regents in January that the university was ready to take on the challenge of helping the world’s farmers and ranchers feed 9 billion people in the next 30 years, it wasn’t something he decided to do on the spur of the moment.
“Kansas State University is already a global leader among research universities in addressing the world challenge of feeding a growing population,” Schulz said. “With the imminent construction of the $1.2 billion National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility (NBAF) on the Manhattan campus, the window is open to claim the leadership position in global food systems.”
The university’s Global Food Systems Initiative is gaining momentum, invigorated this spring by $5 million from the Kansas Department of Commerce.
Continue serving Kansans
John Floros, dean of the College of Agriculture and director of K-State Research and Extension, says the university has leading programs and research capabilities related to the world’s food systems. In that sense, not much changes with Schulz’ initiative.
“It is our job to address food system issues for Kansas producers,” Floros said. “But when we address items for Kansas, the solution also can be applied globally,” such as drought-tolerant wheat varieties for western Kansas and other dry areas of the world.
“Ultimately, this will help Kansans today and tomorrow. This is what we have done since we began as a land-grant university and this is what we will continue to do.”
Floros said the new part includes the university’s focus on a broad, global food network that will need to improve if it is to feed an estimated 2 billion more people by 2050.
“This effort should lead toward Kansas State University becoming the place you go to if you want to improve your food system capabilities, or to learn more about the global food system,” Floros said. “We want to improve the expectation of industry and students in this regard.”
Research gets a boost
“We know that there will be dollars available specifically for this initiative, provided by the university system and matched,” Floros said. “Our departments within the College of Agriculture must be prepared for this.
“I expect departments to compete for these funds. The more effort put forth by the College of Agriculture the stronger we will be in this initiative. However, this isn’t an approach to be taken without the collaboration of other departments and/or colleges in the university.”
That money – offered through challenge grants – will boost an already successful research program that university officials say will make Kansas State University even more competitive for federal dollars.
“You compete more effectively for those tough dollars when you become one of the only places where a certain type of research can be done,” said Ernie Minton, associate director for research and technology transfer with K-State Research and Extension.
“These goals aren’t just to benefit the university,” Floros said. “I want people to know that this is to help the public. We want to address industry problems of the global food system and make things better. This will provide an even bigger impact beyond our current goals.
“If we do this successfully, we can use the resources we already have on campus to meet our goals of educating others and helping industries improve their capabilities.”
Where the Department of Agricultural Economics needs to focus
Glynn Tonsor, associate professor of agricultural economics, states that this challenge provides a need for economic knowledge discovery and wide dissemination of results and implications to efficiently guide society in meeting this grand challenge.
“In this spirit, the Department of Agricultural Economics presents a critically important component of not only K-State’s focused efforts but truly the entire worlds’,” Tonsor said. “The economic research, extension, and teaching capacities in the department currently, as well as the opportunities for enhancement in the future, is the key input into this initiative.”
“The departments really need to connect their outline for this initiative to their strategic plan and focus on what they do well and what we are known for,” Minton said. “If departments can do this, their place in the Global Food Systems Initiative will fall in place.”
Tonsor expects several of the department’s leadership and faculty to be directly involved in each of the land-grant mission responses to the initiative-based challenges. “I further expect our undergraduate and graduate students to be both directly and indirectly involved as their future employment will increasingly be related to similar societal opportunities.
“Kansas already has a comparative advantage both within the U.S. and globally in the production and distribution of several agricultural commodities and food products,” Tonsor added. “I would anticipate the department’s efforts to guide this comparative advantage towards being better understood, recognized, and utilized leading to overall economic welfare enhancement of all stakeholders within Kansas.”
Extension Centennial: The next 100 years
Flinchbaugh outlines the department's history and keys for future success
Barry Flinchbaugh started working with the Department of Agricultural Economics and K-State Research and Extension as a public policy specialist in 1971. During 1984 he became extension state leader for the department.
“My areas of concentration revolved around two issues, what the tax mix should be to fund state and local governments, and the Farm Bills,” Flinchbaugh said.
His extension involvement has also included working with members of state legislature, governors, our Congressional delegations, secretaries of agriculture, and President Bill Clinton. “The key to all of this was that the work was non-partisan in a primarily advisory role,” Flinchbaugh said. “I am still doing that.”
Extension transformations
During his time at K-State, there were two major changes that Flinchbaugh witnessed that have made major impacts on our Extension programs. “The first is the internet, bringing online education to the public,” he said. “Online education has decreased our need to travel into the state and conduct meetings. The issue with this is finding the proper balance. We can’t provide programming via electronic methods only, we still need to meet with the farmers and the public of Kansas. We must find a proper balance of face-to-face and electronic education.”
The second change he experienced is the budget. “Since I have retired, the Extension budget has been drastically reduced,” Flinchbaugh said. “We can’t keep doing the work we have done as the top agricultural economics extension program in the country, unless we get more extension funding. We need more staff and faculty. This has to change or this will clearly suffer."
A trusted-source for Kansas
Flinchbaugh boasts that the Extension programs available through our department are the use value we offer to the public. “The Kansas Farm Management Association (KFMA) is one-of-a-kind today,” he said. “There are very few states that have programs like this. Many others have gone private. We still have ours intact.”
One of the things that Flinchbaugh did in the department was to use the KFMA database to analyze policy issues, farm bills, value appraisal of Kansas farmland for tax purposes. “This provided my ability to accurately advise policy makers.”
A look to the future
Daryl Buchholz, associate director of extension and applied research, said extension in the future will provide three dimensions: a trusted source of information; an educational look at issues and solutions; and a convener of engaged, local conversations about big issues.
Evolving media sources, such as a web presence, social media, and mobile abilities will provide avenues for those programs and conversations about science, research and technology to continue to advance our communities. Technology will continue to evolve at a rapid pace, creating new and better ways to provide Extension education and innovative opportunities for learning.
“If we engage with the public on emerging issues and grand challenges through the research and education coming through our land grant university, that will provide economic competitiveness to our state,” Buchholz said.
Flinchbaugh confidently concludes that the key to success for this department’s role with KSRE is the talented extension specialist. “We are aging, and we are in the process of replacing,” he added. “We need to replace our old-timers with young folks that have the potential to exceed our history and leadership. They won’t be able to do the same level of programming we used to right away, but with the right talent they will get there. And we will get this guidance with Allen Featherstone as our new Department Head. He appreciates Extension. Featherstone will make sure we get the right talent and help our faculty members get creative with funding so we can keep our spot as the top agricultural extension program in the country.”
A dedication to Burton and Grundewald
Bob Burton has served our department for 30 years. He began in the department in 1984 as an assistant professor, became associate professor in 1988, and professor in 1999.
Bob Burton was instrumental in the distance education movement within the department through his undergraduate Farm and Ranch Management course. He has participated in disciplinary and interdisciplinary research, often focusing on risk and return in whole-farm or ranch management. Most recently, he focused his research on farm land ownership as a retirement strategy and agricultural health and safety.
The courses Burton taught at K-State included Farm and Ranch Management, Farm Resource Acquisition and Finance, Farm Management Strategies, Rural Banking, Advanced Farm Economics, Production Economics, and Computer Applications in Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness. Through these courses, and those taught at West Virginia University, Burton taught more than 5,000 students.
Burton earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in agricultural economics from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in 1969 and 1977, respectively. He earned his Ph.D. in agricultural economics at Purdue University in 1982.
Prior to his time at K-State, Burton was an assistant professor at West Virginia University. He also served in the U.S. Navy from 1970 – 1974. Most of his time in the Navy was spent on the USS Sterret that was home-ported in San Diego. During that time, the Sterret went on two Western Pacific cruises. This included the opportunity to visit Hawaii, Hong Kong, Japan, and Taiwan.
A few of his many honors earned include the Gamma Sigma Delta Outstanding Teaching Award, 2008; recognition by the Mortar Board Senior Honor Society of Kansas State University for “Outstanding commitment to students of Kansas State University” 2007; and the Western Agricultural Economics Association, Outstanding Undergraduate Teaching with More Than 10 Years of Experience, 2003.
Professional organizations he served in included the American Society of Farm Managers and Rural Appraisers; International Association of Agricultural Economists; American Agricultural Economics Association (now the Agricultural and Applied Economics Association); Western Agricultural Economics Association; Southern Agricultural Economics Association; National Association of Colleges and Teachers of Agriculture; Kansas Association of Colleges and Teachers of Agriculture; and the Kansas Society of Farm Managers and Rural Appraisers.
Orlen Grunewald has served our department for 36 years. He began in the department in 1978 as an associate professor.
Grunewald’s undergraduate course areas included agribusiness management, agribusiness marketing, and computer applications. He has authored a textbook on food and agribusiness management for beginning students. His research activities focus on investigating the impacts of identity-preserved crops and livestock on supply chain management and agribusiness structures.
Grunewald earned his bachelor’s degree in regional planning at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay in 1973. He earned his master’s and Ph.D. in agricultural economics at the University of Kentucky in 1975 and 1980, respectively.
The courses Grunewald taught included Agribusiness Management, Commodity Futures, Computer Decision Tools, Computer Applications in Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness, Livestock and Meat Marketing, Agribusiness Marketing, U.S. Grain Marketing Systems, and Ag in the Classroom.
Objectives of his research included: to investigate the structural efficiency of agricultural producers and agribusinesses in the supply chain; investigate entrepreneurship and integration in agri-food supply chains to understand the innovation processes that shape the supply chains; identify key success factors in value-added enterprises; create a series of educational modules based in applied research on value added agriculture; and to develop commercialization protocols to facilitate producer participation in wealth-creation value-adding initiatives.
Professional organizations he served in included the American Agricultural Economics Association (now the Agricultural and Applied Economics Association); Southern Agricultural Economics Association, serving on the editorial board for four years; and the Food Distribution Research Society. Grunewald served on the International Committee for the American Council on Consumer Interests in 1990. He was also a Kansas State University Presidential Lecturer in 1986. This listing is a mere snapshot of his honored efforts towards the agricultural economic industry and academia.
Alumni Spotlight: Kevin Saunders
Rolling stones gather no moss — even when they roll upward
At the bottom of Cardiac Hill on the fourth mile of the 10k Peachtree Road Race in Atlanta, Kevin Saunders thought to himself, “No way, man.”
Then, he charged up the hill anyway — and hasn’t slowed down.
Kevin Saunders graduated from Kansas State University in 1978 with a degree in agricultural economics. He was working as a U.S Department of Agriculture grain elevator inspector in Texas on April 7, 1981, when he was blasted 300 feet onto a concrete parking lot from a grain elevator explosion. Ten people were killed, 26 were injured and Saunders was left paralyzed from the chest down.
“I had been an active person my whole life,” Saunders said. “After the accident, I thought I was going to be stuck sitting around the house all the time. But, in everything, I can’t be afraid to fail.”
Today, Saunders is an award-winning wheelchair athlete and motivational speaker. While his accident is the catalyst for many of his speeches, he said that his unwavering spirit was solidified during his time as a K-State student and through his advisor, Arlo Biere, professor of agricultural economics.
“Dr. Biere taught me what hard work and dedication are really about,” said Saunders. “I can look back and know with certainty that he and K-State guided my life in the right direction.”
Saunders relied on his passion for learning to start his training as a wheelchair athlete. His first race was in 1983 at the Peachtree Road Race, the largest 10k in the world. He showed up in a hospital-issued wheelchair and racquetball gloves to protect his hands, only to see the other athletes in aerodynamic chairs that looked more like race cars than wheelchairs and sporting form-fitted, hard rubber gloves.
“I didn’t even know how far a 10k was,” he said. “After the gun fired, I looked up and those guys in fancy wheelchairs were almost out of sight.”
Then, he came to the mile-long Cardiac Hill. As he struggled upward, several foot racers sped by him. Wheelchair racers had been given a 30-minute head start. The race’s rules stated that if a foot racer passed a wheelchair racer, the latter must leave the course for safety reasons. As soon as the foot racers passed him, an official headed his way.
“She grabbed my shirt, but I could already see the finish line,” he said. “I yelled, ‘No way, lady!’ I got loose from her grip and took off.”
Unfortunately, with less than half a mile left, officials stopped Saunders before he reached the finish line. This failure prompted him to set a new goal — to never again get pulled off a race.
So far, he has more than kept this promise. Saunders has been named the Greatest All-Around Wheelchair Athlete in the World, won multiple Paralympic medals, served on the President’s Council of Physical Fitness and Sports, and, in January 2014, won the half-marathon U.S. Track and Field Championship.
Saunders has used his success as an athlete to inspire others. His words have reached many individuals through more than 5,000 speeches and he is considered one of the best motivational speakers in the world. Since 1991, Saunders has served as the honorary motivational coach for K-State’s football team at the invitation of Coach Bill Snyder.
“Kevin is the epitome of the intrinsic values necessary to overcome the greatest tragedies in one’s life,” said Snyder. “I admire his strength, mental toughness, compassion and passion for helping others.”
Saunders’ dedication to K-State doesn’t end on the field. Biere said Saunders visited him often after his graduation, and he is scheduled to speak to Biere’s freshman orientation class this fall.
“I really came to appreciate Kevin, his character and his strengths,” Biere said. “It’s been amazing to see how he decided to take the disability he faced and turn it into a positive. The sheer fact that he survived his accident is incredible. But what has defined his life is his depth and sincerity.”
In 1995, the agricultural economics department named Saunders a distinguished alumnus — a fitting title as he has distinguished himself as an athlete, motivator and a survivor.
“When you break through that threshold, you’ll be a new person, almost unrecognizable,” Saunders said. “You have to push through the Cardiac Hill in your own life. Pain builds courage — that’s how you make change.”
Around the world and back in 2 weeks!
As the spring semester came to an end, Andrew Barkley and Sean Fox prepared to lead students on study abroad trips. Andrew Barkley led 17 students to China and Sean Fox led 22 students to England and Scotland.
From Andrew Barkley - In May, 17 College of Agriculture students traveled to China. The group visited farms, cattle operations, and agribusinesses to learn about food and agriculture in China. The group also visited the Great Wall of China, Tianamen Square and the Forbidden City in Beijing. In Xian, the group bicycled around the city walls of Xian and toured the nearby Terra Cotta Warriors. In Shanghai, the students marveled at the fastest-growing economy in the world, and met with executives in Cargill and Hershey. A highlight was a visit to the US Embassy in Beijing for a presentation by the Ag Attache about exporting and marketing U.S. agricultural goods to China.
From Sean Fox - Our students were outstanding ambassadors for K-State! In all of our meetings - from the US Embassy, to Harper-Adams University, several farms and agribusinesses - they were actively engaged with our hosts. Our K-State students asked intelligent questions, shared their extensive knowledge of U.S. farming, and learned about United Kingdom and E.U. policies and practices in a way that would never be possible in a classroom. Eating a delicious, home-made dinner in a barn on a farm in the English countryside and watching our students share laughs, stories and farming information with four generations of our host family shows how valuable these trips are. Our English and Scottish hosts also thoroughly enjoyed the interaction and were impressed with the KSU students. One of our host farmers told me, “I have never had such an interested audience at my farm before and you are welcome back anytime." What was especially rewarding was observing the degree to which the students learned from each other - an advantage of having a diverse group from different backgrounds and majors. The 2014 U.K. trip was a great success and much of it is due to the inquisitive, adventurous, fun and funny group of students who chose to study abroad.
During this time a student for each trip blogged the experience daily. The blog can be found at http://ageconstudyabroad.wordpress.com/. Bailey Boomhower, a agribusiness major from Russell, blogged for the China trip. Brandon Keller, a junior in agricultural economics with a secondary major in natural resources and environmental sciences from Hiawatha, blogged for the England and Scotland trip. There is a page introducing the bloggers on the blog site. View the full itinerary and the daily blogs of what the students experienced at the blog site.
Day 9 from China: A girl’s perfect last day in China… Chocolate, flowers, good food and an acrobat show! Posted on May 29, 2014 - Well, I can’t think of a better way to end this trip! We went to the Hershey’s Asia Innovation Center here in Shanghai. They’ve only been here since January of 2013 and have about 30 employees. They focus on consumer insight and innovative packaging to grow and retain a bigger piece of the chocolate market in Asia.
Day 9 from Castleford to Edinburgh: Dovecote, Alnwick Castle and Arrival in Scotland Posted on May 28, 2014 - Hello from Scotland! It is exciting to say that we have finally reached the Scotland portion of our study abroad experience this evening, and all I can say is WOW, the views are amazing here! Our morning kicked off just like every other morning on our trip. We started with breakfast in our hotel in Castleford before loading up the coach to head out for the very busy day ahead.
Student Achievements
Doctoral student attended Lindau Nobel Laureates meeting
Melissa Lynes, doctoral student in agricultural economics, Manhattan, was selected as one of two Kansas State University doctoral students to visit with the world's best economists at the fifth Lindau Meeting of the Laureates of the Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel, Aug. 19-24, in Lindau, Germany.
The meeting is an open exchange of economic expertise and to inspire cross-cultural and intergenerational encounters among economists worldwide.
"Melissa and Hedieh [Hedieh Shadmani, doctoral student in economics, Iran] attended lectures, discussions, master classes and panel discussions with nearly 20 Nobel laureates," said Carol Shanklin, dean of the university's Graduate School. "The unique atmosphere of the Lindau meeting is an exceptional opportunity to enrich their education and make connections with economists around the world. This professional development opportunity will be one of the highlights of these graduate students' academic experiences."
Graduate students succeed at AAEA conference
Melissa McKendree won the Agricultural and Applied Economics Association (AAEA) Graduate Student Extension Competition and the team of Michelle Estes, Steven Ramsey, and Emily Mollohan, won the AAEA Graduate Case Study Competition.
The Case Study Team was coached by assistant professor Aleksan Shanoyan.
Alumni achievements
Michael Springer featured as Kansas producer and main speaker for Risk & Profit Conference
Reforms in densely-populated China and their implications for U.S. agriculture took the center stage as part of Kansas State University’s Risk & Profit Conference. The topic, along with an array of others is part of the annual event this year held Thursday and Friday, Aug. 21-22 at the K-State Alumni Center in Manhattan. The Risk & Profit Conference also featured “A Conversation with a Kansas Producer,” this year showing Michael Springer (class of 2000 alumnus, pictured at right with his oldest son, Mason), who farms, raises hogs and works to educate the public about what farmers do to raise healthy, quality food. As an Operation Main Street speaker for the Kansas Pork Association, he talks to school groups and civic organizations and is currently on the Kansas State Board of Agriculture. To view Springer’s introduction video, visit youtube.com/kstateagecon.
Borck presented Stockman of the Year
The Livestock and Meat Industry Council at Kansas State University honored cattle feeder and past Kansas Livestock Association (KLA) President Lee Borck (class of 1970 alumnus) of Manhattan as Stockman of the Year during a dinner held March 6 in Manhattan. More than 250 livestock producers and university officials were on hand to hear tributes to Borck from Beef Marketing Group (BMG) Chief Executive Officer John Butler, CattleFax Executive Vice President Randy Blach, K-State Alumni Association Chief Executive Officer Amy Button Renz and Knight Feedlot owner and past KLA President Kenny Knight. KLA Executive Vice President Dee Likes served as master of ceremonies.
Borck remains chairman of BMG, which has a one-time feeding capacity of 300,000 head. He also is the president and a partner in Innovative Livestock Services, a venture capital company that owns feedyards.
Craig Jagger earns Agricultural Economics’ 2013 Distinguished Alumnus Award
During the Student and Alumni Awards Banquet held Oct. 11, 2013, Craig Jagger was presented with the 2013 Distinguished Alumnus Award. This award is given to an alumnus who has demonstrated significant professional achievement related to agricultural economics or agribusiness.
During 27 years of government service in Washington, D.C., Jagger worked for ten years as Chief Economist for the House Committee on Agriculture, under two Republican and one Democratic Chairmen; five and a half years as a Principal Analyst for Agriculture at the Congressional Budget Office (CBO); and six years as the Wheat Program Analyst at USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA). He also held early career positions at the Government Accountability Office and U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Economic Research Service.
While serving the Agriculture Committee, CBO, and FSA, Jagger helped analyze, write, and/or implement five farm bills, two crop insurance bills, and five budget reconciliation bills.
Jagger earned a Ph.D. in agricultural economics from Cornell University, and at Kansas State University earned an M.S. in agricultural economics and a B.A. in technical theatre. He is the 2011 recipient of the Bruce Gardner Memorial Prize for Applied Policy Analysis from the Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
Upon retiring from government service in October 2012, Jagger founded Legis Consulting, LLC—a consulting practice focusing on agricultural and budget policies.
Jagger has been married for 26 years to Joy Harwood who is Chief Economist for FSA. They have two daughters, Margaret, 13; and Caroline, 9.
Faculty achievements
Allen Featherstone named Department Head
The College of Agriculture at Kansas State University has announced Allen Featherstone as the new head of the Department of Agricultural Economics. He began his official appointment June 30.
“Dr. Featherstone brings prudent leadership, and a wealth of ideas, energy and experience to the position,” said John Floros, dean of K-State’s College of Agriculture. “The administrative team and I are happy that Dr. Featherstone accepted our offer, and we welcome him into our College’s Leadership Team. I am looking forward to working with him as he settles into his new role, and as he provides visionary leadership for our Department of Agricultural Economics.”
“The department has experienced 40 percent growth in its undergraduate programs in the last two years,” Featherstone said. “Certainly meeting student needs will be an important aspect to work on. In addition, the department is having several faculty with many years of service retiring, and hiring individuals to continue their legacy will also be very important.”
Featherstone joined K-State as a faculty member in 1986 and has since taken on several roles, including serving as the department’s interim head on two occasions in the last six years. He grew up on his family’s farm in Walworth, Wisconsin. After graduating from the University of Wisconsin – River Falls with degrees in agricultural economics and economics, he completed master’s and doctoral degrees in agricultural economics at Purdue University.
Agricultural economics faculty picked as Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics Editors
Four Department of Agricultural Economics faculty members have been chosen to serve as editors of the Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics (JARE).
The JARE is the official journal of the Western Agricultural Economics Association (WAEA). Editors of the publication are chosen by the WAEA board to serve a three-year term.
Jeffrey Peterson, professor and director of graduate programs; Hikaru Hanawa Peterson, professor and director of undergraduate programs; Tian Xia, associate professor; and David Lambert, professor, were chosen at the most recent board meeting to oversee content of the JARE published during the 2016-18 term.
“The decision by the Western Agricultural Economics Association Board to select these individuals as the editors of the Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics for a three-year term fully recognizes past and future research productivity of the four new editors,” said Lambert. “The Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics is one of the top agricultural and resource economics journals among a very crowded global market, with three publications a year and approximately a 15 percent acceptance rate of submitted manuscripts. The new editors are dedicated to maintaining the high quality of the journal.”
Briggeman succeeds at AAEA conference
Brian Briggeman received the AAEA Outstanding Undergraduate Teaching Award for those with less than 10 years of experience. Each year, the Agricultural and Applied Economics Association (AAEA) recognizes a select few of outstanding teachers from across the United States. During the 2014 AAEA national meeting, Briggeman, associate professor in agricultural economics and director of the Arthur Capper Cooperative Center, received the 2014 Distinguished Teaching Award: Less than 10 Years of Experience. This award recognizes Briggeman’s dedication to his students and his passion for teaching. Congratulations Brian!
Department updates
AgManger.info
The AgManager.info website is the flagship of electronic extension and education programs in the K-State Department of Agricultural Economics and received the AAEA Outstanding Electronic Media Education Award by the Agricultural and Applied Economics Association in 2010. The site was begun in 2002, combining several individual faculty websites. In 2013, the site averaged over 85,000 visits by more than 30,000 unique visitors each month. The AgManager.info site is one of the most comprehensive and widely used university-sponsored websites for applied research and economic outreach information.
The most popular parts of the site are livestock marketing, including weekly “In the Cattle Markets’ updates; grain marketing, including biweekly “Grain Outlook” reports; crop insurance and government programs; and farm management information, particularly information and tools on land leasing and purchase, and machinery costs. There are a large variety of Excel and web-based decision tools, and also farm management guides and budget spreadsheets.
Another risk management tool available is the grain basis tool, providing weekly historical basis information going back as far as 1998, for wheat, corn, grain sorghum and soybeans from about 800 locations in the High Plains. Associated GIS maps of grain basis and the deviation from the three-year average are also available weekly.
Items of interest to the livestock industry include the CLPER (Connecting Livestock Producers with Recent Economic Research) quarterly newsletter; and “Cattle Finishing Returns” a monthly newsletter by Glynn Tonsor. Other on-going livestock materials include livestock and hay charts; grain supply and demand charts; and projected and historical livestock budgets.
A weekly update via email is provided with recent updates, archives, and upcoming events. The list currently includes over 6,100 subscribers. RSS feeds are also available and utilized by more than 6,700 users monthly. AgManager.info can also be found on Facebook, with over 300 users and Twitter @AgManagerInfo, with nearly 100 followers.
Master of Agribusiness Program
K-State’s Master of Agribusiness (MAB) program is offering travel to Brazil and Argentina to learn about the food and agriculture industry in South America. The trip includes visits to agricultural and food-related industries and guided sightseeing tours with free time to explore Buenos Aires, the waterfalls at Iguazu, and Sao Paulo. The tour (February 20 – March 7, 2015) is open to anyone with an interest in international agribusiness.
Participants on the trip will visit the very heart and soul of the MERCOSUR region’s agriculture and agribusiness. Touring farmland and interviewing farmers, agribusiness executives and experts will allow trip participants to develop a first-hand understanding of MERCOSUR’s booming agriculture.
This the second time the MAB program has traveled to South America since the program began hosting international agribusiness tours in 2004. Tracy Brunner, MAB Alum and President of Cow Camp Beef in Ramona, Kan., was one of the participants on the first South America tour.
“The MAB sponsored agricultural study tour to South America [in 2004] became even more than we expected. We saw and learned many things about crop and livestock production. We also witnessed firsthand some of the inherent strengths and challenges of agriculture in the MERCOSUR countries we visited,” Brunner said.
Previous international trips hosted by the Master of Agribusiness program have been to South America, Russia, Southeast Asia, Australia and New Zealand, and Europe. Travelers get a first-hand perspective of international agriculture, while building relationships with members of the group. When remembering the first trip to South America and the most recent trip to Europe, Brunner said he enjoyed the mix of the group, professional visits and sightseeing.
“I think the K-State Master of Agribusiness group assembled an excellent tour that was not only interesting and educational, but really enjoyable. One of my favorite things was getting to know the group members. There is such a great dynamic on MAB trips,” Brunner said.
For information, go to www.mab.ksu.edu/Alumni/SAmerica15.html or contact Mary Bowen at 785-532-4435 or mjbowen@ksu.edu.
Arthur Capper Cooperative Center
Cooperative education is in full swing at the ACCC. The ACCC held the second Emerging Leaders program in July 2014. CoBank co-sponsored the educational program attended by 27 people from 15 cooperatives. Building a Cooperative Finance Foundation gave participants a chance to learn and apply fundamental cooperative finance concepts.
The Emerging Leaders programs will continue this year with the second Building Trusted Relationships conference on Dec. 2 - 4, 2014. More information can be found on our website at http://accc.k-state.edu/trust.html.
The K-State Symposium on Cooperative Issues, Investing in Tomorrow’s U.S. Agriculture, was held on Aug. 27. Speakers focused on food trends, agribusiness infrastructure, future employees and the political landscape in Washington D.C. Barry Flinchbaugh, professor emeritus for agricultural economics, shared his reflections on U.S. and Farm Policy during the morning session.
The Symposium was held in conjunction with the Kansas Cooperative Council’s Leadership Roundtable. Another aspect of ACCC cooperative education is through the cooperative scholarship program. Nineteen students will receive $54,259 in cooperative scholarships in the upcoming academic year. Since 1984, the ACCC has awarded $556,509 on behalf of the cooperative community.
We’re grateful for the generosity of our cooperative donors who support outstanding students at Kansas State University.
Office of Local Government
Updated fiscal conditions and trend reports now available
The Office of Local Government (OLG) is pleased to announce the release of the 15th annual Kansas County Fiscal Conditions and Trends reports. Reports are available for each Kansas county and contain detailed revenue and expenditure information drawn from county budget documents. The reports are designed to aid county commissioners as they complete the budget planning process, however they may be of interest to anyone concerned with county government finance.
The OLG fiscal database is the only source of uniform, detailed budget information for local governments in Kansas. It allows elected officials and citizens of the state to take a broad, long-term view of the public finances across Kansas county government.
Copies of the report are distributed to each county’s extension office, commissioners, and clerk or administrator. Reports are also available for download at www.ksu-olg.info. The Office of Local Government provides educational outreach, technical assistance, applied research, and information and referral services to city and county governments, local organizations, the county Extension network and citizens throughout Kansas.
For additional information, contact the Office of Local Government at 785-532-2643, John Leatherman at jleather@k-state.edu, or Rebecca Bishop at rbishop@k-state.edu.
Improving community health
The Office of Local Government (OLG) launched the Kansas Rural Health Works (KRHW) program in 2004 to expand public awareness of the importance of the health care sector in sustaining rural economic vitality.
Recently, the federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act required many hospitals to help improve community health-related conditions. This required a periodic Community Health Needs Assessment. KRHW provides community facilitation and planning assistance to develop local actions plans that meet these requirements. To date, OLG has worked in 35 counties to develop strategies to improve rural community health.
The Importance of the Health Care Sector to the Economy is a report that presents estimates of the economic contribution of the health care sector on the local economy. KRHW created a report for each Kansas county in November 2013.
Information about the Kansas Rural Health Works initiative is available at www.krhw.net. Contact OLG at 785-532-2643, or John Leatherman at jleather@ksu.edu.
Alumni and Scholarship Banquet September 26, 2014
Jorge Gattini, Paraguay’s Minister of Agriculture, will receive the department’s 2014 Distinguished Alumni Award
This year’s alumni and scholarship banquet will be held Sept. 26 at the Farm Bureau Building in Manhattan, Kan.
Jorge Gattini, Minister of Agriculture, Paraguay, will receive the department’s 2014 Distinguished Alumni Award. The department is honored to offer this award to Gattini. This award is given to an alumnus who has demonstrated significant professional achievement related to agricultural economics or agribusiness.
Gattini, who in 1998 earned a master’s degree in agricultural economics at K-State, was sworn in to his position as the Minister of Agriculture in Paraguay August 15, 2013 under their President, Horacio Cartes. Gattini has held several positions mostly in the agriculture ministry’s marketing department under three agriculture ministers.
He also earned a master’s degree in applied economic environmental at University of London, Imperial College.
Gattini came to Manhattan from Paraguay in a cultural exchange program with Kansas 4-H, staying for about a month during the early 1990s. This was a program of Kansas Paraguay Partners, an international volunteer organization promoting people-to-people exchanges between Paraguayans and Kansans.
Allen Featherstone, department head and professor of agricultural economics, served as Gattini’s professor during his graduate school work and oversaw his master’s program, where he studied ‘The Agricultural Financial System in Paraguay’. The purpose of the project was to setup a financial system to allow farmers to get credit for purchasing inputs.
“I always knew Jorge would have a big future just from the interactions I’ve had with him as a student,” Featherstone said. “We are honored that he is coming back to visit the department and accept this award.”
Foundation update
Teaching students to turn risk into opportunities
Providing opportunities for K-State students and helping them develop into tomorrow’s leaders are goals of Greg and Mamie Case, Winnetka, Illinois. They’ve donated more than $1 million to K-State’s Center for Risk Management Education and Research (CRMER) to create the Greg and Mamie Case Integrated Risk Management Endowment.
The center engages students, both undergraduate and graduate, and industry partners in innovative education and research, advancing their risk management skills and knowledge. The center is a joint effort of faculty and students from K-State’s Colleges of Agriculture, Business Administration, Engineering, and Arts and Sciences. Additional partners from across campus also participate.
"By supporting the Center for Risk Management Education and Research, we can create opportunities for interested students to learn that risk is opportunity, that businesses can achieve their desire for predictability by understanding risk and how it will impact their organizations," said Greg Case, K-State alumnus and president and CEO of Aon, a global risk management and HR solutions firm. "Gaining this perspective through the center will allow those students to understand that the challenges associated with managing risk are enormous, but the organizations that confront risk head on will stand to make tremendous gains for their stakeholders.
The funds from this endowed gift will be used for student fellowships, student educational experiences, program development, faculty support and other needs determined by the center’s director.
"I hope this gift can, in some small way, elevate the discussion around risk management," Case said. "With the growing presence of non-traditional risks such as cyber risk, pandemic risk and social media risk, it is important that we have a strong national dialogue, not only in board rooms but on college campuses, on what we need to do to address these challenges because of the impact they and other such risks can have on our global economy."
Article written by - Marisa Larson, KSU Foundation
Support the Department of Agricultural Economics in other ways by donating through the Foundation here.
Contributors to this copy of the Exchange include: Elaine Edwards, Pat Melgares, Megan Saunders, Shelby Mettlen, Katie Allen, Marisa Larson, John Flores, Ernie Minton, Daryl Buchholz, Barry Flinchbaugh, Kevin Saunders and Elizabeth Hund.
Alumni: Send us your updates of contact information, career or family happenings. Contact Amanda Erichsen at aerichsen@ksu.edu or 785-532-6994. Mail is welcome, send to Amanda Erichsen, Department of Agricultural Economics, 342 Waters Hall, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS 66506.
