Agricultural Economics & Agribusiness Department Newsletter | May 2022
|
|
Spring 2022 Commencement Front row (left to right): Parham Pouladsanj, Arsene Agossadou, Stephani Caroline, Marie-Cécile Vekemans, Courtney Cooper, Benjamin Jacobs, Braden Bateman, Di Fang Back row (left to right): Mike Popp, Andrew McKenzie, Marei Houpert (Ph.D.),
John Anderson, Bruce Ahrendsen |
|
|
|
|
|
John D. Anderson Professor and Department Head |
|
Another semester has come and gone. This wasn’t just any ordinary semester, though. Spring 2022 was the semester that we finally returned to something that looked and felt like normal following two years of pandemic: no more masks, no more distancing, no more Zoom classes. One of the most immediate benefits of a return to regular order is that we were able to hold normal commencement ceremonies again. Spring graduation is a big deal on a college campus, and this was our first one since 2019. It was great to see families and friends able to gather, on campus and in person, to celebrate the significant milestone of college graduation with our students. Here in AEAB, we sent a lot of students out the door to bigger and better things over this past academic year. |
|
|
|
According to the University of Arkansas Office of Institutional Research and Assessment, AEAB graduated 95 students with Bachelor’s degrees and 20 students with M.S. degrees in the 2021/22 academic year ending this May. That’s a record number of undergraduate degrees and the highest number of graduate degrees in about five years. These students deserve a great deal of credit for persevering in their educations through the unprecedented circumstances of the past two years. Graduation season is also a great time to recognize the incredible accomplishments of our outstanding AEAB faculty and staff. They also have gone above and beyond the call of duty to continue to provide the best possible educational experience for our students while also advancing the department’s research and outreach missions. Their dedication, patience, and creativity has certainly been challenged over the last few semesters, but it has not failed us yet. We are fortunate to be able to continue adding to our outstanding faculty. In May, Dr. Trey Malone joined us from Michigan State University in a food and agribusiness marketing position. He brings a wealth of experience in value-added agriculture (among many other things). In June, Dr. Jada Thompson will be joining us in a marketing/production economics position with particular focus on the state’s poultry industry. She is returning to her home state from her current position at the University of Tennessee. Also in June, Dr. Hunter Biram will assume his extension faculty appointment, working out of the UA System Division of Agriculture state office in Little Rock. Dr. Biram has just completed his Ph.D. at Kansas State University. I hope you all enjoy a safe and fun summer. If your summer travels bring you to the Hill, feel free to stop in for a visit. We’d love to see you. |
|
|
|
|
Fryar Price Risk Management Center Launches Podcast
|
|
|
|
Andrew McKenzie Fryar Center Associate Director and Endowed Professor |
|
Relevant Risk is available on the Center's website, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, and Spotify. |
|
|
|
The Fryar Price Risk Management Center of Excellence began its Relevant Risk podcast in January 2022. The primary focus of the podcast is risk management as it pertains to agricultural producers and businesses. Commodity risk can come in many forms – from price and production risk to animal disease outbreaks. The podcast seeks to shed light on current issues affecting commodity risk. The goal is to provide background on why a risk-induced event is occurring and offer solutions and answers on the optimal way to manage the risk. The podcast offers timely information in an easily accessible format to as wide an audience as possible, capturing the spirit of the land grant mission, by advancing risk management knowledge in research, teaching and extension. Eight episodes have already been recorded on a range of risk-related topics, which can be found on the Center’s website here. |
|
|
|
|
|
Welcome New Faculty and Staff
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Dr. Biram graduated with his B.S.A. in Agribusiness from Arkansas State University in 2016 and with his M.S. in Agricultural Economics from Mississippi State University in 2019. He earned his Ph.D. in Agricultural Economics from Kansas State University in 2022. Dr. Biram has a strong interest in crop insurance and commodity programs as a risk management strategy for crop producers. His extension programming focuses on crop risk management using crop insurance. His research topics are primarily in risk management and agricultural policy program evaluation using causal inference and applied econometrics with an emphasis on crop insurance. Dr. Biram’s current work focuses on the impacts of crop insurance participation on producer behavior and uncovering drivers of premium rate heterogeneity. His current published work evaluates optimal risk management strategies using crop insurance and commodity programs in the Farm Bill. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Dr. Connor is an assistant professor in the Department of Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness at the University of Arkansas with research and extension appointments in crop production economics. Lawson received his Bachelor’s degree from Macalester College in St. Paul, Minnesota and his Master’s and Ph.D. degrees from North Carolina State University. He also did postdoctoral work at the Ohio State University. His research focuses on the intersection of farm risk management and farm finance including biotechnology, crop insurance, farm financial resilience and conservation practices in agriculture. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Dr. Malone is an award-winning agricultural and food economist with roots in Kansas and the Oklahoma Panhandle. After earning his doctorate from Oklahoma State University under the advisement of Dr. Jayson Lusk, he spent the last five years as an assistant professor at Michigan State University, where he worked with stakeholder groups on agribusiness marketing strategies and supply chain logistics. Over that time, he published 48 peer-reviewed journal articles and won multiple awards including the Emerging Scholar Award from the Southern Agricultural Economics Association. He serves as a Co-Editor of the Agricultural and Resource Economics Review and Managing Editor of the International Food and Agribusiness Review. His perspectives have appeared in popular press outlets including CNN, USA Today, The Today Show, Fast Company, and many others. Dr. Malone’s current work focuses on innovation, resiliency, and entrepreneurship throughout the agribusiness supply chain.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Willman Javier Iglesias Pinedo |
Dr. Pinedo is a postdoctoral fellow working under Dr. Qiuqiong Huang. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Dr. Thompson is a University of Arkansas alum, graduating with her B.S. in AEAB and Poultry Science in 2008. She was a charter participant in the Atlantis program studying in the U.S., Italy, and Belgium to earn a M.S. in Rural Development from a European Consortium and a M.S. in Agricultural Economics from the University of Arkansas in 2010. She worked in private industry for a few years, managing customer insights and pricing analytics before earning her Ph.D. in Agricultural Economics from Colorado State University in 2016. Her research primarily focuses on animal health and livestock economics with emphasis on the poultry industry. Outside of her research she enjoys learning about new cultures and languages; at last count she can greet you in 20 languages. |
|
|
|
|
|
Quiz Bowl Teams Succeed at SAEA 2022 in New Orleans |
From left to right: Madison Price, Molly English, Oakley Davis, Emory Johnson |
|
Four students from the Agribusiness Undergraduate program travelled to New Orleans to compete in the Southern Agricultural Economics Association (SAEA) Academic Quiz Bowl competition. Over 200 students from across the U.S. competed in the double-elimination tournament that ran all day Sunday, February 13th and until noon on Monday, February 14th. Students are randomly assigned to teams of three so that each team is made up of individuals from different universities. Madison Price’s team made it to the final day of the competition and finished in fourth place. Emory Johnson’s team finished in first place, and each student on the winning team was recognized at the SAEA Awards Banquet and given a $200 cash prize. All of the UA students in the competition won at least one match in the tournament and represented the University of Arkansas and AEAB with class. Dr. Nathan Kemper, the Quiz Bowl Advisor, also travelled with the team and served as a moderator during the competition. |
|
|
|
|
|
Students Compete at 2022 Arkansas Governor's Cup |
AEAB Master’s students Braden Bateman and Benjamin Jacobs competed in the 2022 Arkansas Governor’s Cup Collegiate Business Plan Competition, which featured 31 teams across 10 universities. Bateman’s team, GammaVet, won first place in the High-Growth/Technology Division. “It was such a great experience to compete in the 2022 Arkansas Governor’s Cup High-Growth Division with GammaVet and our fellow competitors,” Bateman said. “We put in a lot of hard work up to this point and are grateful to see that it has paid off. GammaVet is working on a clinical test, invented by our own Shana Owens, for Felis catus gammaherpesvirus, a cancer-causing feline herpesvirus affecting more than 32 percent of cats worldwide. We also have developed an innovation pipeline of multiple products focused on improving feline health overall, to help address the underserved market of cats in the veterinary care space.” Bateman says the team is extremely honored to take home first place, and thankful for the pitching experience and feedback. Additionally, GammaVet was also selected as a semifinalist team for the 2022 Heartland Challenge, which is hosted by the University of Arkansas Office of Entrepreneurship and Innovation. There, the team won the Investor Roundtable award and the Women-Led Business award. Jacobs’ team, Suelo, LLC, was a finalist in the High-Growth/Technology Division. “It was a great honor to be amongst the six finalists within the High-Growth/Technology Division during the 2022 Arkansas Governor's Cup Collegiate Business Plan Competition, as well as to have been the one with the honor to pitch our team's project,” Jacobs said. “Although our team did not win the competition, it has been a wonderful experience and networking opportunity.”
Jacobs says the experience is an opportunity that will help to improve the team’s project.
“Suelo, LLC will be based in Panama, and targets optimizing sustainable farm and resource management through technological innovation by collecting and analyzing soil metrics to assist producers in their daily decision making.”
Bateman and Jacobs are both thankful for their teammates' exceptional talent and hard work. For more information on the 2022 Arkansas Governor’s Cup, click here. |
|
|
|
Bumpers College Honors Student Wins Poster Competitions |
Dr. Nathan Kemper stands with advisee Aryn Blumenberg, who
won two poster competitions for her Honor's thesis on consumer
preferences for lab grown meat.
|
|
Aryn Blumenberg, a Bumpers College honors student, successfully defended her thesis, titled, "Consumer Preferences for Lab Grown Meat: The Effect of Information on Consumer Choice." Blumenberg won first place in the poster competition at the Bumpers College Honors Research Symposium, as well as first place in the Social Sciences division of the National Undergraduate Research Week: Poster Competition (UA Honors College). Blumenberg was advised by AEAB's Dr. Nathan Kemper. |
|
|
|
Dr. Lanier Nalley received the NACTA (North American Colleges and Teachers of Agriculture) Teaching Award of Merit certificate. The award is a recognition of the recipient's accomplishments and dedication to teaching and learning. Congratulations, Dr. Nalley!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Students Honored at Bumpers College Honors and Awards Ceremony |
AEAB students were among those honored at the Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food & Life Sciences Honors and Awards Ceremony on April 21, 2022. The following AEAB students were recognized: Senior Scholar Award: Oakley Davis Outstanding Seniors and Graduate Students: Austin Tanner King Benjamin Jacobs Ambassador: Emory Johnson Honors Graduates: Rachel Joy Beyer William Litzinger Emmie Noyes
To read more on the ceremony, click here.
|
|
Agricultural Business Club Awards 2022 |
The following students were nominated for the Agricultural Business Club Outstanding Student Awards. Students are nominated by advisors and faculty members. Criteria for the awards includes GPA, work, service, and ABC officer service, membership, and involvement. Over 60 students were nominated this year. The winners are listed below each category.
|
Outstanding Incoming Student |
|
Anna Davis Bryce Anderson Jackson Metzger Mia Balderas Eileen Masterson |
|
Mallory Hardwick Kathryn Goodrich Billy Huber Cason Triplett |
|
|
|
|
|
Savannah Whitehead Mateo Tolliver Molly Parker Haley Black Luke Wimpy Madison Price |
|
Dalton Roberts Abigail Norsworthy Graham Outlaw Sierra Gregory Alex Davis |
|
|
|
Taylor Davis John Edwards Ilah Rakes James Hart Chandler Holcomb |
|
James Malone Connor Saig Nicolette Graves Herschel Friday III Taylor Elliott |
|
|
|
Rebekah O'Neal Anthony Gatti Joseph Schroeder Alex Pittman Emory Johnson |
|
Luke Russell Blake Titus Shali Smithson Makenzie McJunkins Sophiea Borengasser |
|
|
|
Outstanding Graduating Senior |
Alana Coleman Byron Louk Oakley Davis Mary Eichenberger Tanner King Matthew Woolard Morgan King Rachel Beyer JD Lucke Parker Richardson |
|
Riley Jett Nathaniel Hampton Adam Wiechern Kendra Fallen Emmie Noyes William Litzinger Guice Thompson Caleb Swears Brad Litty Molly English |
|
|
|
|
Outstanding Teaching Award |
|
Dr. Alvaro Durand-Morat received the University of Arkansas Agricultural Business Club's 2022 Outstanding Teaching Award.
Congratulations, Dr. Durand-Morat!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Congratulations, Master's Graduates!
|
|
Non-thesis track graduates: Stephani Caroline Indonesia Lacie Carte Lincoln, AR Cailey Nixon Frisco, TX |
|
|
|
|
|
Jeanie Rowbotham (middle) and her husband, Theron (left) own and operate Infinity Ranch in Hagarville, AR. They recently were named the Family Farm Environmental Excellence Southern Region Award Winner. (Image courtesy of the Rowbotham family) For more information on the Rowbothams and Infinity Ranch, click here. |
|
|
Jeanie Rowbotham Jeanie graduated from the University of Arkansas in Summer 2007, earning an Agricultural Economics M.S. degree. After graduating she went to work for the University of Arkansas Systems as a County Extension Agent in Clarksville, AR. Jeanie, her husband Theron Rowbotham and their children own and operate Infinity Ranch in Hagarville, AR. They raise turkeys for Butterball, as well as commercial cattle and forage. In 2022, the Rowbothams were named the Family Farm Environmental Excellence Southern Region Award Winner. The award takes into account the many ways farming and the environment converge, including nutrient and energy management and interaction with the community. The farm is designed to be sustainable and runs off solar power. Building a long-lasting agricultural enterprise with as little environmental impact as possible is very important to the Rowbothams, not just for them, but for their children. "The knowledge I gained from my time at the University of Arkansas Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness department was invaluable to the person I am today," Jeanie said. "It expanded my horizon to think of agriculture not just locally but globally.” |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Di Fang Dr. Fang will be leaving at the end of the summer for the University of Florida, where she will be an Associate Professor at the Food and Resource Economics Department. Aaron Shew Dr. Shew will be leaving in June and will be the Data Science Director for the AcreMaps team at ArcTrader, based here in Fayetteville. |
|
|
|
Remembering Former Members of the Department
|
|
|
|
The department would like to recognize and remember former department members who have passed in 2022. Information is taken from the obituaries.
|
Chad Coleman Chadwick (Chad) Milton Coleman, 34, passed away on April 20, 2022. He received his Bachelor of Science In Agriculture Business Marketing and Management in 2011 and Master of Science in Agricultural Economics in 2012 from the University of Arkansas. Chad was employed by Progeny Ag Products and was an active member of the First United Methodist Church in Stuttgart, Arkansas. He was a fierce and loyal Razorback fan. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
James Martin Redfern Dr. James Martin Redfern, an emeritus professor at the University of Arkansas and proud father, grandfather, and husband, passed away March 19, 2022, in Fayetteville. Redfern was hired as an assistant professor in 1968 and promoted to associate professor, then professor before retiring an emeritus professor in 2007. He also created a scholarship for agribusiness students. Along with many outstanding teacher and mentor awards, Redfern served on the Arkansas Economic Advisory Council and was longtime advisor to the Agricultural Business Club. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Please make sure the information we have on file for you below is correct. |
|
|
Email: dviguet@uada.edu
Phone: () Mailing Address: 3400 Gene George Boulevard, Apt. I303 City State: Springdale, AR Employer: Division of Agriculture Job Title: Communications & Special Projects Coordinator |
|
|
|
|
Click below to follow AEAB on
Facebook and Twitter: |
|
|
|
|
A MESSAGE FROM THE ARKANSAS ALUMNI ASSOCIATION |
|
|
|
|
Our lives are built upon connections and relationships. At the Arkansas Alumni Association, our work is about creating lasting relationships with people – our alumni – who are the motivation for everything we do. We are in the legacy business, enduring through time and evolving to meet the needs of the University of Arkansas Family. As a member of the association you will also be considered a member of the Bumpers Alumni Society. Founded in 1995 by alumni and friends of the University of Arkansas Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences (DBCAFLS), the society is a chartered organization of the Arkansas Alumni Association. The society's mission is to promote communication and friendship among alumni, faculty and friends of Bumpers College by providing a forum for information exchange through organized events and other activities. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness 217 Agriculture Building, Fayetteville, AR 72701 (479) 575-2256 |
If you wish to be removed from this group's mailing list, Unsubscribe. |
|
|
|
|
|
