Brief Summary of Minutes of Annual Meeting

Summary of Annual Meeting:

Faculty (17) and graduate students (4) from 13 universities, and an industry executive participated in the 2015 WERA-72 annual meeting, held at the Mandalay Bay Resort, in Las Vegas, Nevada, June 21-23, 2015. The registration fee was waived for the four graduate students that presented papers. The annual meeting featured an invited industry speaker, an industry tour, five paper sessions and one panel discussion. The program agenda, business meeting minutes and treasurer’s report are attached in appendices A, B and C respectively.

The first paper session covered topics related to production and demand in food systems. There were four papers in this session. The first presentation was related to consumer supported agriculture, comparing wellness metrics for shareholders vs. everybody else. The second presentation was about marketing ingredients and how value-based input pricing can work for a value-added product. The third presentation compared levels of hunger, ethnicity, and nutritional attainment in California. The fourth presentation provided a conceptual model of food hub performance.

This year’s industry speaker was Hank Combs, RC Farms and President of the Nevada Farm Bureau. Mr. Combs provided a very interesting presentation about the history of his family hog farm and the recycling business derived from it that his brother and he started. Mr. Combs shared with us how they started the idea of collecting scrap food from the hotels to process it into feed for this family hog operation. It was a very lively discussion about the specifics of the business and also more general topics of entrepreneurship and sales.

The second paper session was about classroom and education al program assessment. The first presentation was about assessing the impact of group composition and social factors on student performance in team-based learning activities in higher education. The second presentation was about learning outcome standards for undergraduate programs in Agricultural Business. The third presentation was about evaluations to improve college teaching and going beyond the student evaluation instruments. In the fourth presentation Elizabeth Yeager shared her experience from organizing a study abroad class.

In this year’s panel Ira Altman, Jason Bergtold, Scott Downey and Dennis Conley discussed strategies for agribusiness and agricultural economics MSc programs. They described the different master’s programs in their departments, and we all discussed the benefits, focus and type of student for each type of program.

The first day of the WERA-72 annual meeting concluded with the group’s business meeting. The business meeting was conducted along with a meeting of the executive officers. Details of the business meeting are presented in the attached appendix B.

The second day of the meeting started with an industry visit to the Gilcrease Orchard. The family farm started in 1920 with 900 acres for crops and livestock. In the 1970s they Gilcrease brothers decided to stop production of other crops and livestock and focus on developing 100 acres of an orchard accessible to the community. In 1997 the brothers established the non-profit Gilcrease Orchard Foundation to run the orchard. The WERA-72 group had the opportunity to explore the orchard and talk to the manager about the business practice, marketing strategy, and new products introduced in the orchard.

The third paper session was about rewards of collective organizational behavior. The first presentation was about alliance formation in the biotechnology industry, where the authors examined RBV and social networks. In the second presentation, the authors analyzed portrayal and perception in the cooperative value proposition. In the third presentation, the authors presented a new model to calculate changes in producer, consumer and social welfare for the U.S. cattle industry if the use of hormones and beta-agonists in production was banned.

The fourth paper session was about different topics in agribusiness management. In the first presentation, the authors analyzed business risk and financial risk in the banking sector. The second presentation was about building trust with Millennials and the principle component of customer loyalty in sales transactions. In the third presentation, Aaron Johnson provided an update to previous research on what agricultural firms value in agribusiness graduates.

The last paper session of the meeting was about extension programming in agribusiness management. In the first presentation Ruby Ward and Kynda Curtis talked about building business management capacity for American Indian agricultural businesses. The second presentation was about finding the least cost cattle ration formulation as an agribusiness production model. In the third presentation Forrest Stegelin talked about how forecasting is the heart and soul of agribusiness outreach and extension and its implications.

For a full listing of paper sessions, please see Appendix A.

Appendix A Program Agenda

WERA-72 Annual Meeting

June 21 – 23, 2015

Las Vegas, Nevada

Sunday June 21, 2015 – Mandalay Bay Resort

6:00 to 8:00        Informal group dinner for those arriving early and are interested (Bayside Buffet)

Monday June 22, 2015 – Mandalay Bay Resort (Palm A room)

7:00 to 8:00        Registration and breakfast

8:00 to 8:30        Welcome, introductions

8:30 to 10:30     Paper session #1: Production and Demand in Food Systems

• Comparative Wellness Metrics– CSA Shareholders versus Everybody Else

Tim Woods, Jairus Rossi, James Allen, and Graham Soley

• Marketing Ingredients – Value-Based Input Pricing for a Value-Added Product

Forrest Stegelin

• Hunger, Ethnicity, and Nutritional Attainment

Greg Baker and Courtney Robinson

• Conceptual Model of Food Hub Performance

Brent Ross and Tatevik Avetisyan

10:30 to 11:00 COFFEE BREAK

11:00 to 12:00 Industry Speaker – Hank Combs, RC Farms, President of Nevada Farm Bureau

12:00 to 1:00     LUNCH

1:00 to 3:00        Paper session #2: Classroom and Educational Program Assessment

• Assessing Impact of Group Composition and Social Factors on Student Performance in Team-Based Learning Activities in Higher Education

Aleksan Shanoyan and Jason Bergtold

• Learning Outcome Standards for Undergraduate Programs in Agricultural Business

Marshall Frasier and Hikaru Peterson

• Evaluation to Improve College Teaching: Going Beyond the Student Evaluation Instrument

Aaron Johnson and Jeremy Falk

• Lessons Learned from a Study Abroad

Elizabeth Yeager

3:00 to 3:30        COFFEE BREAK

3:30 to 4:30        Panel: Strategies for Agribusiness and Agricultural Economics MSc Programs

Ira Altman, Jason Bergtold, Scott Downey, and Dennis Conley

4:30 to 5:00        WERA Business Meeting

6:00 to 9:00        DINNER

Tuesday June 23, 2015 – Mandalay Bay Resort (Palm A room)

6:45 to 7:30        BREAKFAST

7:30 to 8:00        Transit from Mandalay Bay to tour site

8:00 to 10:00     TOUR – Gilcrease Orchard

10:00 to 10:30 Transit from tour site to Mandalay Bay

10:30 to 12:00  Paper session #3: Rewards of Collective Organizational Behavior

• Alliance Formation in the Biotechnology Industry: An Examination of RBV and Social Network

Maria Perez, Leonardo Sanchez, and Desmond Ng

• Cooperative Value Proposition: Portrayal and Perception

Hannah Hallock, Aaron Johnson, and Scott Downey

• Trade Implications for the U.S. Beef Industry

Lia Nogueira, Kathleen Brooks, and David Bullock

12:00 to 1:00     LUNCH

1:00 to 2:30        Paper Session #4: Topics in Agribusiness Management

• Analyzing Business Risk and Financial Risk in the Banking Sector

Nathan Hulinsky

• Building TRUST with Millennials, the Principle Component of Customer Loyalty in Sales Transactions

James Sledd and Kerry Litzenberg

• What Agricultural Firms Value in Agribusiness Graduates: An Update to Previous Research Aaron Johnson, Scott Downey, Rodney Holcomb and Al Wysocki

2:30 to 3:00        COFFEE BREAK

3:00 to 4:30        Paper Session #5: Extension Programming in Agribusiness Management

• Building Business Management Capacity for American Indian Agricultural Businesses

Ruby Ward and Kynda Curtis

• Agribusiness Production Model: Least Cost Cattle Ration Formulation

Levi Helmuth

• Forecasting – The Heart and Soul of Agribusiness Outreach and Extension

Forrest Stegelin

4:30 to 4:45        Closing Comments and Adjournment

Appendix B Business Meeting Minutes

2015 Business Meeting Minutes

Monday, June 22, 2015

4:28 PM

WERA-72 Annual Meeting 2015

Las Vegas, Nevada

Business Meeting Agenda

Attendees: Lia Nogueira, Chair; Marshall Frasier, Vice Chair; Aaron Johnson, Secretary; Scott Downey, Treasurer; Elizabeth Yeager; Aleksan Shanoyan; Jason Bergtold; Greg Baker; Forrest Stegelin; Tim Woods; Ira Altman; Desmond Ng; Ruby Ward; Kynda Curtis; David Ripplinger

1. Chair Nogueira called the meeting to order at 4:39 pm. Secretary Johnson took minutes
2. Approval of past minutes
   1. Minutes from the 2014 meeting were reviewed.
   2. Moved by Downey, seconded by Bergtold to approve the 2014 business meeting minutes.
   3. Approved unanimously.
3. Treasurer’s Report
   1. Treasurer Downey summarized the treasurer’s report:
      1. Current cash balance of $10,856 (exclusive of all registration revenue and expenses for 2015 meeting).
      2. 2015 meeting expenses and revenue
         1. 22 registrants for the 2015 meeting
            1. four registrants are students who are presenting
            2. Keeping with past practice, registration fee was waived for all student participants presenting papers
         2. 16 participants took advantage of early bird registration ($250 if registered before May 1)
         3. 2 participants paid late registration fee ($300 after May 1)
         4. Total revenue of $4,600
         5. Expenses for 2015 program are incomplete

• Curtis moved to approve the treasurer’s report, Frasier seconded the motion.

1. Motion passed and the treasurer’s report was accepted as submitted.

1. Old business
   1. Annual Report
      1. Update of activities and outcomes
         1. Nogueira reminded the need for participants to officially sign up
            1. She will email those not participating this year but who usually do 
         2. Graduate student registration fee waiver
            1. Policy discussed:
               1. provide $0 registration fee for presenting students with cap of 6
               2. if more students the executive committee has discretion
            2. Moved to accept by Downey; seconded by Bergtold

• Passed unanimously

1. Communication/Outreach
   1. Website
      1. Nogueira updated group on changes done and planned for website. She encouraged members to visit website and offer suggestions
      2. Curtis suggested adding language about benefits for graduate students
      3. Bergtold suggested AgManager.info hosted by KSU may be good alternative hosting location if need in the future
      4. Curtis suggested we develop a Facebook page
      5. Ward suggested we move the listserv to system that anyone can send announcements to the list
         1. Nogueira will check with Al Wysocki (University of Florida) if we can open the access
      6. Posting presentations/papers
         1. Plan is to post papers and presentations in AgEcon Search (not doubled on the website)

1. New business
   1. Election of WERA-72 Secretary for 2016
      1. Johnson nominated Bergtold to serve as secretary in the coming year.
      2. Moved to close nominations and declare Bertold secretary-elect by acclimation

• Fraiser moved and seconded by Ira 

1. Motion passed unanimously

1. Selection of location/date for future meetings
   1. 2016: Denver / Fort Collins, Colorado
      1. Dates to avoid
         1. IFAMA meetings (no date yet - usually 3rd week in June - ? 13-16th)
         2. WAEA meetings (June 21-23)
         3. AAEA meetings (July 31 - Aug 2)
         4. Need to pay attention to Father's Day as well (June 19)
      2. Partners and theme ideas
         1. Ward - other regional group would be good but not WAEA
         2. Curtis - Wine Economics Association meets in June every other year in the U.S.
      3. Decision: June 6 & 7, 2016 in Ft. Collins
         1. Baker moved, Bergtold seconded
         2. passed unanimously
      4. Possible themes/ideas: Marijuana facility/production tour
   2. 2017: Return to Las Vegas? Other suggestions?
      1. Ward - tour post program may be interesting
      2. Curtis - offered to help arrange Vegas option off-stripe facilities
      3. Left it to executive committee to explore options
         1. Fun, interesting, easy to get to

• Nogueira acknowledged the retirements of Dennis Conley and Forrest Stegelin

1. Commended Danielle Quirk from Purdue University's Center for Food and Agricultural Business for all her effort in coordinating with the hotel

1. Johnson moved to adjourn the meeting; Woods seconded the motion
   1. Chair Nogueira adjourned the meeting at 5:32 pm. 

Appendix C Treasurer’s Report

2014 Treasurer’s Report

WERA – 72

June 22, 2015

Update

The WERA-72 treasury is currently held in an account at Purdue University. WERA-72 remains in strong financial condition. At present WERA holds a cash balance of $10,856.99. This balance does not include registrations or expenses for the 2015 meetings. .

Last year’s reported balance was $8,538.36 and was noted as pending review of posted transactions from the 2014 conference in Santa Rosa. There were 29 registrants last year with revenue totaling $6095. Expenses totaled $3,539.37 for a net addition to WERA accounts of $2,555.63.

Projections and Recommendations:

There are 22 registrants for the 2015 meeting. Four of those are students. Of the remaining, Sixteen of the participants took advantage of the early bird registration fee of $250 for net revenue of $4,600. Expenses for the program are not yet known, but are anticipated to roughly match revenues

If we are to return to Las Vegas in 2017, the Mandalay Bay has been terrific to work with, but food is pretty expensive and there have been concerns expressed about the costs of the rooms. From conversations with Danielle (an event planner) it will be difficult to find a good combination of costs versus benefits in Las Vegas. It may make sense to consider rotating between Western universities.

Submitted by:

 W. Scott Downey

Treasurer WERA-72

Outputs and activities other than Publications(Organized by Institution):

California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo 

Presentations and Posters:

• MacKenzie, S., K. Schwab, M. Higgins, B. Greenwood, M. Goldenberg, J. Greenwood, and B. Hendricks. “Engaging Urban Youth with Natural Areas: Messaging that Resonates.” Selected presentation presented at the National Recreation and Park Association annual conference. Las Vegas, NV. September 2015.
• Schwab, K., M. Higgins, S. Houge Mackenzie, M. Goldenberg, W.W. Hendricks, B. Greenwood, and J. Greenwood. “#Connect: Engaging Youth via Social Media.” Selected poster presented at the Nevada Recreation and Park Society Conference. Reno, NV. April 2015.
• Schwab, K., M. Higgins, S. Houge Mackenzie, M. Goldenberg, W.W. Hendricks, B. Greenwood, and J. Greenwood. “Urban Youth and the Outdoors: Messages that Resonate.” Selected poster presented at the George Wright Society Conference on Parks, Protected Areas, and Cultural Sites. Oakland, CA. April 2015.
• O’Sullivan, P.* and M. Higgins. “A Gritty Path to Better Course Evaluations: Do Formative Assessments (SGIDs) Affective Summative Assessments.” Selected poster presented at the CSU Symposium on University Teaching. Los Angeles, CA. March 2015.
• Higgins, L.M.* and C. Schroeter. “Disentangling Teamwork Dynamics: All Work for One or One Teaches All.” Selected poster presented at the Food Distribution Research Society annual meeting, Salt Lake City, UT. October 2014.
• Bekkerman, A., M. Higgins, and M. Taylor. “Integrated Learning Environments: Enhancing Discovery through Research and Engagement.” Invited session at the Agricultural and Applied Economics Association annual meeting in San Francisco, CA. July 2015.
• Richardson, J., M. Higgins, and R. Fumasi. “Simulation for Risk Analysis.” Pre-Conference Workshop at the Agricultural and Applied Economics Association annual meeting in San Francisco, CA. July 2015.
• Higgins, L.M. “Learning Contracts and Learning Portfolios: Promoting Self-Directed Learners.” Invited presentation organized by the Center for Teaching, Learning & Technology, Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo. May 2015.

North Dakota State University

Presentations:

• Nganje, William and Dragan Miljkovic: "Food Safety Information, Changes in Risk Perceptions and Offsetting Behavior," The 2015 International Conference of Agricultural Economists (ICAE), August 9-14, 2015, Milan, Italy.  
• Miljkovic, Dragan, Nathan Dalbec, and Lei Zhang: “Estimating US Long-Run Demand for Major Fossil Fuels,” SAEA Annual Meetings, February 1-4, 2015, Atlanta, GA.
• Miljkovic, Tatjana, Saleem Shaik, and Dragan Miljkovic: “Identifying the Best Probability Distribution for the Body Mass Index from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System Data,” SAEA Annual Meetings, February 1-4, 2015, Atlanta, GA.
• Shaik, Saleem, Silvia Miranda, and Dragan Miljkovic: “Efficiency, Technical and Productivity Change in Brazilian Agriculture: Regional Analysis,” Annual IATRC Meeting, December 07-09, 2014, San Diego, CA.
• Miljkovic, Dragan, Nathan Dalbec, and Lei Zhang: “Forecasting Natural Gas: A U.S. Energy Market Analysis,” Missouri Valley Economics Association (MVEA) Annual Meeting, October 23-25, 2014, St. Louis, MO.

Grants:

• Nganje, William, Jeremy Jackson, Verlin H. and Other, Exceptional Impact Donor Initiative. DMF (38,185), 03/2015-08/2016.
• William Wilson,Nganje, William, Greg McKee, and Bruce Dahl. Economic Impact of UWBSI. USDAA ARS 73608 (176,554), 03/2015-04/2017.
• Lin Zhulu (PI) and Dragan Miljkovic (Co-PI): “Soil Health and Water Quality Impacts of Growing Energy Beets for Advanced Biofuel Production in North-Central United States.” NIFA FAR0021281. Effective dates: 08/2014-12/2015. Miljkovic’s Amount: $54,786.
• Dragan Miljkovi (PI), David Ripplinger (Co-PI), and Saleem Shaik (Co-PI): “Change in Land Use in ND Due to Ethanol Production from Corn,” North Dakota Department of Commerce, State Energy Program. Effective Date: 10/2014-06/2015. Miljkovic’s Amount: $27,000.
• Dragan Miljkovi (PI), David Ripplinger (Co-PI), and Saleem Shaik (Co-PI): “Impact of Tight Oil Production on Regional Development in North Dakota,“North Dakota Department of Commerce, State Energy Program. Effective Date: 10/2014-06/2014. Miljkovic’s Amount: $39,862.
• David Ripplinger (PI), Dragan Miljkovic (Co-PI), and Saleem Shaik (Co-PI): “Impact of Tight Oil Production on Labor Market in North Dakota and Montana.” North Central Regional Center for Rural Development, Michigan State University. Effective Dates: 09/2014-07/2015. Miljkovic’s Amount: $15,000.

Purdue University 

Presentations:

• Hallock, Hannah,Aaron  Johnson, Scott Downey and Chris McIntosh. “Evaluation to Improve College Teaching: Going Beyond the Student Evaluation Instrument.” Western Education/Extension and Research Activities Committee on Agribusiness (WERA 72) Annual Meeting. Las Vegas, Nevada. June 21-23, 2015.
• Downey, W. S. “Generational Selling.” Presented at Cornbelt Seed Conference in Indianapolis In. February 2015. Approximately 150 participants.
• Downey, W. S. “Marketing in Veterinary Practices.” Invited single session for Purdue University Veterinary School class. March, 2015. Approximately 40 participants.

Santa Clara University

Presentations:

• Baker, Gregory A., Michael J. Harwood, and Courtney N. Robinson, 2015. "The True Cost of a Meal for Low-Income Families," International Food and Agribusiness Management Association Symposium Presentation, St. Paul Minnesota, USA.
• Baker, Gregory A.  and Courtney N. Robinson. 2015. "Hunger, Ethnicity, and Nutritional Attainment," WERA-72 Annual Meeting, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA.

University of Kentucky

Posters, Presentations, Symposia:

• Curtis, Kynda, Whitney McCarthy, Ruby Ward, Timothy Woods, and Lydia Zepeda, “Emerging Trends in Local Food Marketing: Future Research and Outreach Perspectives”,  Symposia for Agricultural and Applied Economics Association meeting, San Francisco, CA, July, 2015.
• Woods, Timothy, and Debra Tropp, “Adapting Community Supported Agriculture to Modern Markets – Where is it Working”, Selected poster for Agricultural and Applied Economics Association meeting, San Francisco, CA, http://purl.umn.edu/205885, July, 2015.
• Woods, Timothy, Jairus Rossi, James Allen, and Graham Soley, “Comparative Wellness Metrics – CSA Shareholders versus Everybody Else”,  Selected paper presented at the WERA-72 Regional Research for Agribusiness annual meeting, Ls Vegas, NV, June, 2015.
• Zare, Samane, Timothy Woods, Wuyang Hu, and Marv Batte, “What are Students’ Preferences for Local Blueberry Foods in School Meals?”, Selected poster presented at Southern Sustainable Agriculture Working Group Conference, Mobile, AL, uky.edu/ag/agecon/pubs/erssawg-poster33.pdf, January, 2015.
• Soley, Graham, Tim Woods, Shang-Ho Yang and Wuyang Hu, “Looking at Meat Label Purchases with a Consumer Behavior Motivation Index”, selected paper for presentation at the Food Distribution Research Society Meeting, Salt Lake City, UT, November, 2014.

Grants:

• Woods, Timothy (PI) , James Allen, Marissa Aull, Alison Davis, “Going to the Farm-acy: The Effect of CSA-Backed Produce Prescriptions on Eating Behaviors and Health Outcomes in Rural Kentucky”,  USDA Farm Market Promotion Program, 2014-2016,  $98, 272
• Woods, Timothy (PI), “MarketReady Training for Specialty Crop Growers”, USDA Specialty Crop Block Grant, 2014-2016, $32,811

University of Nebraska-Lincoln

Presentations:

• Conley, Dennis M. U.S. Ethanol Production and an Emerging Export Market. Selected paper presented at the annual meeting of the International Food and Agribusiness Management Association, St. Paul, MN. June 2015.
• Nogueira, Lia. “Trade Implications for the US Beef Industry.” Western Extension and Research Activities Committee on Agribusiness Annual Meeting, June 2015.
• Nogueira, Lia. “Technical Barriers to Trade: Effect on Revenue and Surplus.” International Agricultural Trade Research Consortium Annual Meeting, December 2014.

Grants:

• Conley, Dennis, Kathleen Brooks, Cory Walters and Eric Thompson. Nebraska Ethanol Board, State of Nebraska. $19,840. October 2014.
• Nogueira, Lia. “Welfare Implications of UNL Wheat Breeding Programs”, ARD Wheat, Wheat Products and Other Small Grain Research Grant, with Cory Walters, $61,724 USD, July 1, 2015 - June 30, 2017.
• Nogueira, Lia. “Conference: Implications of TTIP and TTP for GM/Non-GM Coexistence”, National Institute for Food and Agriculture Grant (Co-PI), USDA, $49,600 USD, June 2015 – November 2015.

University of Saskatchewan

Grants:

• T. Micheels (PI), J.E. Hobbs (Co-investigator), and W.E. Kerr (Co-investigator). “Responses to CETA within the Canadian Beef Value Chain.” AFBI Scholars Program, September 1, 2015 to August 31, 2017, $67, 016
• T. Micheels (PI) and Kathy Larson (Co-Investigator) “Identification and Management of Risk in Production Agriculture in Saskatchewan.” AFBI Scholars Program, September 1, 2015 to August 31, 2017. $82,016.
• Nickerson (PI), J. Hobbs, J. House, N. Low, S. Hood-Niefer, T. Tanaka, S. Ghosh, R. Tyler, S. Whiting, R. Green, P. Shand, C. Henry, D. Korber, G. Zello, and E. Micheels. “Development of innovative therapeutic food products for treating malnutrition and responding to emergencies in high risk communities.”  Global Institute for Food Security, September 2014-August 2019, $1,996,000 project funding ($52,000 controlled by Micheels).

Utah State University

Presentations:

• Brain, R. and K. Curtis, “Utah Farm-Chef-Fork: Linking Rural Growers with Urban Chefs to Enhance Local Food Sourcing.” Selected Presentation of the Linking Urban and Rural Tourism Conference, Fairfax, VA, September 2015.
• Slocum, S. and K. Curtis, “The Role of Food Entrepreneurs – Suburban Farm Shops in the UK.” Selected Presentation of the Linking Urban and Rural Tourism Conference, Fairfax, VA, September 2015.
• Curtis, K. and S. Slocum, “Farm Shops: A Direct-Marketing Alternative.” Selected Track Session Presentation of the Agriculture and Applied Economics Association Annual Meetings, San Francisco, CA, July 2015.
• Ward, R. and K. Curtis, “Building Business Management Capacity for American Indian Agricultural Businesses.” Selected presentation of the WERA-72 Annual Meeting, Las Vegas, NV, June 2015.
• Curtis, K.R., M. Bradshaw, and S. Slocum, “The Role of Food and Culinary Tourism Demand in the Western US.” Selected paper presented at the 2015 National Value-Added Agriculture Conference, Austin, TX, May 2015.
• Curtis, K.R. and R. Ward, “Program Evaluation and Survey Design Techniques.” Invited presentation of the 2015 Extension Risk Management Education National Conference, Minneapolis, MN, April 2015.
• Curtis, K.R. and S. Slocum, “Farm and Food Tourism: Exploring Opportunities in the West.” Selected presentation of the 2015 Extension Risk Management Education National Conference, Minneapolis, MN, April 2015.

Grants:

• Co-Principal Investigator: USDA Specialty Crops Program, 2015-2016. $10,462. Legume Understory Cover Crops for Sustaining Soil Fertility, Tree Growth and Yield in Mature Peach Orchards.
• Co-Principal Investigator (Utah): NIFA – Water for Agriculture, 2015-2020. $4.5 million. Enhancing Climate Resiliency and Agriculture on American Indian Lands of the Great Basin Region.
• Co-Principal Investigator: USDA Specialty Crops Program, 2014-2016. $35,081. Utah Farm-Chef-Fork: Furthering farm to restaurant communication and local sourcing statewide.
• Co-Principal Investigator: NIFA - Organic Agriculture Research and Extension Initiative (OREI), 2014-2019. $1.7 million. Compost Carryover and Cover Crop Effects on Soil Quality, Profitability, and Cultivar Selection in Organic Dryland Wheat.
• Principal Investigator/Project Director: Western Center for Risk Management Education Grant, 2014-2015. $32,000. Expanding Direct Marketing Opportunities in the Intermountain West through Farm Shops.
• Co-Principal Investigator/Project Director: Western SARE PDP Grant, 2014-2016. $75,000. Building Business Management Capacity for American Indian Agricultural Businesses.

Accomplishments (Organized by Institution):

California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo

Publications:

• Silva, A., M. Higgins, and M. Hussein. (2015). “An Evaluation of the Effect of Child-Directed Television Food Advertising Regulation in the United Kingdom.” Canadian Journal of Agricultural Economics.
• Higgins, L.M. and E. Llanos. (2015). “A Healthy Indulgence? Wine Consumers and the Health Benefits of Wine.” Wine Economics and Policy. 4: 3-11.
• Higgins, L.M. and K. Litzenberg. (2015). “Transferring Experience Through Team Teaching: The Chance of a Lifetime.” College Teaching. 63 (3): 105-111.
• Xia, C., M. Higgins, and M. Wolf. (2015). “Millennials Leaning In: Can Women in Agribusiness Benefit from Technology and Social Collaboration in Higher Education?” International Food and Agribusiness Management Review. 18 (2): 93-108.
• Schroeter, C. and M. Higgins. (2015). “The Impact of Guided vs. Self-Directed Instruction on Students’ Information Literacy Skills.” Journal for Advancement of Marketing Education. 23 (1):1-11.
• Ishdorj, A. and M. Higgins. (2015). “Children’s Food Security and Participation in National School Lunch Program.” Applied Economics and Finance. 2 (1): 119-128.
• Higgins, L.M. and C. Schroeter. (2015). “Disentangling Teamwork Dynamics: All Work for One or One Teaches All.” Journal of Food Distribution Research. 46 (1): 56-57. 

North Dakota State University

Publications:

• William Nganje, Miljkovic, Dragan and Daniel Vioca “Offsetting Behavior and the Marginal Impact of Food Safety Information.” Paper Accepted for Publication, Review Agricultural Resource Economics. May, 2015.
• Cheryl Wachenheim, Brook R, Robert Hearne, William Nganje “Identifying Market Preferences for High Selenium Beef" Paper Conditionally Accepted for Publication, Journal of Food Distribution Research, October 2015.
• Timothy Richards and William Nganje. “Welfare Effects of Food Recall.” Canadian Journal of Agricultural Economics, 62, Issue 1, p. 107-124, 2014.
• William Nganje, Renée Shaw Hughner, and Paul M. Patterson. “Perception of Risks and Preferences for Locally Grown Produce: A Marketing System Approach,” Journal of Food Product Marketing, Vol. 20, Issue 2, p. 196-214, 2014.
• Jesus Bravo, Ignacio Molina and William Nganje. “Understanding intentional food contamination attitudes: applying Ajzen’s Theory of Planned Behavior to a sample of fruit and vegetable industry workers.” International Journal of Agricultural Management, Volume 3 Issue 1, p.43-52, 2013.
• Claudia Dumitrescu, William Nganje, and Clifford Schultz II. “Market Opportunities and Challenges for U.S. Wheat Exports in the Balkans and Black Sea Region.”  British Food Journal, 156, No. 10, p. 1518-1536, 2013.
• Miljkovic, Dragan and Anna Glazyrina: "The Determinants of Total Fertility Rate in Russia," Journal of Policy Modeling [Accepted for publication on August 2, 2015].
• Miljkovic, Dragan, William Nganje, and Daniel Voica: "Food Safety Information, Changes in Risk Perceptions and Offsetting Behavior," Agricultural and Resource Economics Review [Accepted for publication on May 19, 2015].
• Hart, Jarrett, Dragan Miljkovic, and Saleem Shaik: “The Impact of Trade Openness on Technical Efficiency in the Agricultural Sector of the European Union,” Applied Economics (2015), 47(12): 1230-1247.
• Miljkovic, Dragan, Anais Liogier, Saleem Shaik, Nikita Barabanov, and Silvia Miranda: “Globalization and Obesity,” The World Economy (2015), 38(8): 1278-1294.
• Miljkovic, Dragan: "The Impact of External Pressure on Voting Outcomes in Transition Economies," Review of Radical Political Economics (2015), 47(2): 193-208.
• Miljkovic, Tatjana and Dragan Miljkovic: “Modeling Impact of Hurricane Losses on Income Distribution in the Coastal U.S.,” International Journal of Disaster Risk Science (2014), 5(4): 265-273.

Refereed Book Chapters:

• Miljkovic, Dragan: "Dual Nature and the Human Face of Food (In)Security," In International Food Security in an Uncertain World: A Global Perspective (Volume 1) Andrew Schmitz, P. Lynn Kennedy, and Troy G. Schmitz (editors) [Accepted for publication in March of 2015].

Books (Edited):

• Miljkovic, Dragan (Ed.): “Agriculture and Trade: International Perspectives,” Nova Science Publishers, Inc., New York, 2014 (ISBN: 978-1-62948-975-9).

Purdue University

Publications:

• Perry, G., Deibel, P., Downey, W. S. & Gunderson, M. (2015). Agribusiness benchmarks: Creating common learning outcomes for undergraduate agribusiness management programs. Journal of Agribusiness, 32(1), 47-66.
• Yeager E., Downey, W. S. & Widmar, D. (2015). (Syngenta: Changing a global company. International Food and Agribusiness Management Review, 18(2), 167-183.

Presentations:

• Hallock, Hannah,Aaron  Johnson, Scott Downey and Chris McIntosh. “Evaluation to Improve College Teaching: Going Beyond the Student Evaluation Instrument.” Western Education/Extension and Research Activities Committee on Agribusiness (WERA 72) Annual Meeting. Las Vegas, Nevada. June 21-23, 2015.
• Downey, W. S. “Generational Selling.” Presented at Cornbelt Seed Conference in Indianapolis In. February 2015. Approximately 150 participants.
• Downey, W. S. “Marketing in Veterinary Practices.” Invited single session for Purdue University Veterinary School class. March, 2015. Approximately 40 participants.

Santa Clara University

Publications:

• Lakner, Zoltan, and Gregory A. Baker. 2014. “Struggling with Uncertainty: The State of Global Agri-food Sector in 2030.” International Food and Agribusiness Management Review, Volume 17, No. 4.

University of Kentucky

Publications:

• Li, XL, and S. Saghaian. (2015). “Price Adjustment and Market Power in the Columbian Milds Coffee Market.” Journal of Agribusiness, forthcoming.
• Shepherd, J. and S. Saghaian. (2015). “Risk Perception and Trust Interaction in Response to Food Safety Events across Products and Their Implications for Agribusiness Firms.” Journal of Food Distribution Research, forthcoming.
• Ozertan, G., S. Saghaian, and H. Tekguc. (2015). “Dynamics of Price Transmission and Market Power in the Turkish Beef Sector.” Turkish journal of Economics, Business & Finance, 30(349):53-76.
• Saghaian, S. and M. Reed. (2015). “Spillover Effects of U.S. Federal Reserve’s Recent Quantitative Easing on Canadian Commodity Prices.” International Journal of Food and Agricultural Economics, 3(1):33-43.
• Sujarwo, J., M. Reed and S. Saghaian. (2015). “Production Efficiency of Small-Scale Shallot Producers in East Java, Indonesia.” Journal of Global Economics, Management and Business Research, 2(2):59-71.
• Ingram, Dewayne L., Timothy A. Woods, Wuyang Hu, and Susmitha S. Nambuthiri, “Willingness-to-pay Comparisons for Flats of Groundcover Plants in Plantable Containers: Consumers versus Commercial Buyers in Kentucky”, HortScience 50(3):408-411, 2015, http://hortsci.ashspublications.org/content/50/3/408.full.pdf?ijkey=1dnMXc3y7VE7Ydu&keytype=ref
• Brislen, Lilian, Timothy Woods, Lee Meyer, and Nathan Routt, “Grasshoppers Distribution: Lessons Learned and Lasting Legacy”, University of Kentucky Experiment Station Special Report Series, SR-108, 26 p. http://www2.ca.uky.edu/agc/pubs/SR/SR108/SR108.pdf, January, 2015. 
• Maes, Thong, Wuyang Hu, Timothy Woods, Marv Batte, and Stan Ernst, "Substitutes or Complements? Consumer Preference for Local and Organic Food Attributes", American Journal of Agricultural Economics, doi:1093/ajae/aau108, 2014
• Woods, Timothy A., “Innovation in Agri-Food Clusters: Theory and Case Studies: Book Review”, American Journal of Agricultural Economics, doi: 10.1093/ajae/aat082, 2014.

University of Nebraska-Lincoln

Publications:

• Conley, Dennis, Kathleen Brooks, Cory Walters and Eric Thompson. Economic Impacts of the Ethanol Industry in Nebraska. Department of Agricultural Economics and the Bureau of Business Research. University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Special Report. April 2015.
• Woods, Timothy, Lia Nogueira, Shang-Ho Yang and Xueting Deng. 2015. “Local Wine Expenditure Determinants in the Northern Appalachian States.” Journal of Food Distribution Research 46(2):30-50.
• Asgari, Mahdi and Lia Nogueira. 2015. “Institutional Differences and Agricultural Performance in Sub-Saharan Africa.” Journal of International Agricultural Trade and Development 9(2):189-209.
• Nogueira, Lia, Joel Michalski, Thomas L. Marsh and Vicki McCracken. 2015. “Welfare Implications of Washington Wheat Breeding Programs.” Journal of Agricultural and Applied Economics 47(2):147-174.
• Nogueira, Lia and Cory Walters. 2015. “Welfare Implications of Wheat Breeding Programs.” Cornhusker Economics, Department of Agricultural Economics, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, March 25, 2015.
• Brooks, Kathleen, Lia Nogueira and Jacob Birch. 2014. “U.S. Beef Trade Disruptions.” Cornhusker Economics, Department of Agricultural Economics, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, November 4, 2014.

University of Saskatchewan

Publications:

• Forbes-Brown, S., T. Micheels, and J.E. Hobbs, Forthcoming. Willingness to Pay for Milk and Ice Cream with the “100% Canadian Milk” Label: A Discrete Choice Experiment. Journal of International Food & Agribusiness Marketing. Accepted May 10, 2015.
• Lassoued, R., J.E. Hobbs, T. Micheels, and D. Zhang, Forthcoming (to be published in Dec 2015 Special Issue). Consumer trust in chicken brands: a structural equation model. Canadian Journal of Agricultural Economics. Accepted April 27, 2015.

Utah State University

Publications:

• Slocum, S., and K. Curtis, (in press). “Assessing Sustainable Food Behaviours of National Park Visitors: Domestic/On Vocation Linkages, and Their Implications for Park Policies.” Journal of Sustainable Tourism.
• Curtis, K.R., K. Allen, and R. Ward, (in press). “Food Consumption, Attitude, and Behavioral Change among CSA Members: A Northern Utah Case Study.” Journal of Food Distribution Research.
• Maughan, T., K. Curtis, B. Black, and D. Drost, (2015). “Economic Evaluation of Implementing Strawberry Season Extension Production Technologies in the U.S. Intermountain West.” HortScience 50(3), 395-401.
• Bosworth, R., D. Bailey, and K. Curtis, (2015). “Consumer Willingness to Pay for Local Designations: Brand Effects and Heterogeneity at the Retail Level.” Journal of Food Products Marketing 21(3), 274-292.
• Curtis, K.R., I. Yeager, B. Black, D. Drost, and R. Ward, (2014). “Market and Pricing Potential for Extended Season Fresh Produce Sales: An Intermountain West Example.” Journal of Food Distribution Research 45(2), 46-65.
• Debnath, D., K. Curtis, and S. Slocum, (2015). “Expanding Direct Marketing Opportunities through Farm Shops in Western Tourism Destinations: Extension Program Design. Proceedings of the 2014 Value-Added Conference, Baltimore, MD, May 2014.
• Brain, R., K. Curtis, and K. Hall, (2015). “Utah Farm-Chef-Fork: Building Sustainable Local Food Connections.” Journal of Food Distribution Research 46(1), 1-10.
• Curtis, K.R., J.D. Gumirakiza, and R. Bosworth, (2014). “Consumer Preferences and Willingness to Pay for Multi-Labeled Produce at Farmers’ Markets.” Journal of Food Distribution Research, 45(1), 14-20.