March 2004

Calendar of Events:

Congratulations and Names in the News:

The Snyder Lecture is scheduled for April 15.  Be sure to mark your calendar!  This year's speaker is Douglas D. Hedley, Canadian Assistant Deputy Minister, Farm Financial Programs Branch, Agriculture and Agri-Food.  His speech will center on “A Canadian's Perspective on Agriculture and Agri-food Policy (Living with Lions; Serengeti or Circus?).”  The schedule includes:

1:00 -  Dessert—Krannert drawing room            

2:00 -  Awards recognition program—Krannert drawing room            

2:00 -  Graduate Student Poster competition winners 2:15 -  Inaugural Ag Econ Recognition Awards:  Noralyn Marshall; Steve Bishop; Tom Funk; Ted Merrell.  

2:45 -  Department program highlights            

3:00 -  Teaching Academy and Book of Great Teachers Awards         

3:30 -  Snyder lecture—Krannert auditorium

Otto Doering, Professor of Agricultural Economics, was awarded the highest award of the Purdue Agricultural Alumni Association, The Certificate of Distinction , at the Purdue Ag Alumni Fish Fry, February 7, 2004.  The Certificate of Distinction is intended to recognize those who have contributed significantly to agriculture through professional accomplishments, activity in organizations associated with agriculture, community service work, and other activities that make the nominees a credit to their profession.  Dr. Doering exemplifies “service leadership” whereby leadership is demonstrated through service to others.  Dr. Doering brings groups and individuals with divergent interests together and promotes education on important economic and policy issues.  He offers an objective, well-informed perspective on sensitive issues and is a highly effective educator both within and outside the classroom.  As one of Otto's supporters wrote, “While Otto enjoys the respect of key policy makers, even more important to Hoosiers is his ability to explain the new environmental and political realities we now face. Those of us in agriculture who have been influenced by Dr. Doering are much more “constructive” in our engagement with those who would regulate us. Over the years I have had a chance to hear Otto make presentations in a wide range of classrooms and venues. His skills as a communicator and teacher are truly outstanding. Whether the audience was made up of my neighbors or managers of an international corporation, they left the room with a much better understanding of the nuances of the issues Otto discussed that day.”

The current issue of Agricultures features Purdue Extension Specialists, including Maria Marshall of the Ag Econ Department, who are helping promote food and agribusiness entrepreneurship in Indiana. http://www.agriculture.purdue.edu/agricultures/currentissue/features/boom_01.htm

Departmental Outstanding Master of Science thesis for 2003 was awarded to Miguel Echarnier for his M.S. thesis “Economic Assessment of the Federal Manure Land Application Policy on Indiana Crop-Hog Farm”. Dr. Kenneth Foster served as major advisor. His thesis will be submitted to the AAEA for consideration of Outstanding Masters Thesis.

Congratulations to Sophie Chiremba whose 2003 M.S. thesis “Productivity Efficiency of Resettled Farmers in Zimbabwe” will also be submitted to the AAEA competition. Channing Arndt served as advisor.

Philip Paarlberg, John G. Lee, and Ann Hillberg-Seitzinger:  2003 best journal paper, Southern Agricultural Economics Association,  “Measuring the Welfare Effects of an FMD Outbreak in the United States,”  Journal of Agricultural and Applied Economics , April 2003.

Thought You Would Like To Know:

James F. (Jim) and Lois Ackerman of Indianapolis have generously given $1.5 million to Purdue to endow the James and Lois Ackerman Professorship in Agricultural Economics.  Jim is a 1947 graduate of the Department of Agricultural Economics.  He is a principal of Cardinal Ventures, LLC, a privately-owned partnership that seeks to acquire businesses that can be grown both internally and through acquisitions.  Prior to forming Cardinal Ventures, Jim was the CEO and principal stockholder of Cardinal Communications, Inc., the 70th largest U.S. cable television company at that time. That company was sold in 1993 after 21 years of operation. In addition to his responsibilities at Cardinal Communications, Jim was the Executive Director of Becker Communications Associates, a venture capital firm that specialized in making investments in the communications industry. Jim also served as Vice Chairman of Communication Equities, one of the country's largest investment banks specializing in the communications industry.  Other organizations Jim has served through board or officer positions include the National Charge Account Bankers Association, the National Commercial Finance Association, and the National Cable Television Association. Jim is currently a partner with The Chicago Corporation in its Midwest Bank Venture Capital Funds. Jim was recognized in 1995 by Indiana Governor Evan Bayh as a Sagamore of the Wabash.

Jim credits the Agricultural Economics Department, and particularly Professor Earl Butz, with helping him prepare for a career in business.  Like Jim, we believe that preparing young people for careers in business continues to be an important role for our department.  The Ackerman Professorship will substantially strengthen our ability to perform this role by providing greater resources to our efforts in business education and outreach.  We are very grateful to the Ackermans for their generous gift and look forward to naming an outstanding individual to the Ackerman Professorship in the near future.

“An Introduction to Starting a Specialty Food or Food Ingredient Business in Indiana” will be presented by the Indiana Farm Bureau in Indianapolis. This one day workshop for food entrepreneurs is April 9 th .

Call for Papers and Participants for The Eleventh Annual Empirical Investigations in International Trade Conference, University of California-Santa Cruz, November 12-14, 2004. www.eiit.org/ConfInfo/EIIT2004.html

The New Ventures Team launched their website which contains helpful resources and information on value-added agriculture. www.agecon.purdue.edu/newventures .

The latest edition of PAER (Purdue Agricultural Economics Report) is online at http://www.agecon.purdue.edu/extension/pubs/paer/ .  Some of the current articles include, “Agricultural Outlook,” “The Indiana Equine Industry,” and the upcoming “Top Farmer Crop Workshop,” to be held July 18-21.  If you would like to receive the PAER electronically, you may register at http://www.agecon.purdue.edu/contact/contact.asp

It is with great sadness that we announce the death of Mary Rice. Mary was an icon on the clerical staff for many years, possessing those “old school” qualities that are all too often lost in the “modern world.” Mary worked for many years as clerical support for John Sanders, Steve Lovejoy, John Huie and several emeriti. A memorial service for Mary was held on February 19.

Travel, Speeches and Presented Papers:

Terry Griffin will present “Improved Decision Making with GIS Tracking Crop Inputs and Outputs” in Indianapolis at the 2004 Statewide GIS Conference entitled “Putting Indiana on the Map!” The conference is sponsored by Indiana GIS Initiative. Co-authors are Dayton Lambert and Jess Lowenberg-DeBoer.

Lusk, J.L. “Consumer Preferences as Impetus for Non Tariff Trade Barriers: Experimental Evidence of Demand for Genetically Modified Food in the United States and European Union.”  Invited Research Seminar at Michigan State University , February, 2004.

Norwood , B., and J.L. Lusk.  “Forecasting Limited Dependent Variables.”  Paper presented at the Southern Agricultural Economics Annual meeting, Tulsa, OK, February, 2004.

Publications:

Keeney, Roman, and Thomas W. Hertel. "The WTO Doha Development Round and OECD Agricultural Policy," Paper Presented at the Southern Agricultural Economics Association Annual Meeting, Tulsa, OK, Feb. 16-18.

Mark, D.R., J.L. Lusk, and M.S. Daniel.  “ Recruiting Agricultural Economics Graduate

Students:  Student Demand for Program Attributes .”  American Journal of Agricultural Economics .  86(February 2004):175-184.

Lusk, J.L.  “An Experimental Test of the Commitment Cost Theory.”  American Journal of Agricultural Economics .  85(Dec 2003):1316-1322.

Job Announcements:

California State University, Fresno: Ag Marketing and Agribusiness Management
University of Minnesota: Professor and Head, Dept of Applied Economics
University of Nebraska-Lincoln: Head, Department of Agricultural Economics
Northwest Missouri State University: Assist Prof of Ag Econ and Business

Purdue Extension Service: see website listed below

Career and Job Sites on the Internet:

Keeping Track Monthly Newsletter Archive

May 22, 2012

Introducing a Special Issue of Agricultural Economics on the World Food Crisis of 2007-08

Now accepting applications for Natural Resources Leadership Development Institute

Considering becoming an Agricultural Economics student? Please visit our Future Student pages.

USDA National Needs Fellowships In The Economics Of Alternative Energy are available. For more information, download the pdf.