Brief Summary of Minutes of Annual Meeting

Accomplishments

The WERA-72 Coordinating Committee continued to advance its mission of collaborative, multi-state agribusiness scholarship in 2025–2026, with this year’s meeting centered on the impact of artificial intelligence across agribusiness research, teaching, and industry practice.

Short-term Outcomes

• Increased awareness of AI adoption and impact across agribusiness. The 2026 annual meeting brought together academic and industry perspectives on artificial intelligence through a keynote address from Autonomous Solutions Incorporated, an industry panel with representatives from Agriform Seed, USDA Insurance, and the Intermountain Farmers Association, and seven selected paper presentations examining AI strategy, adoption barriers, cooperative financial benchmarking, labor-market effects, and consumer-facing applications.
• Identification of critical research and education issues. Presentations and discussion at the 2026 meeting surfaced a range of AI-related research and teaching issues, including why agribusiness AI pilots often stall before full adoption, functional classification of AI innovation and its labor-market effects, AI-enabled label clustering in food markets, costly information acquisition in pest management, and proactive classroom frameworks for teaching with AI.
• Addressing the talent gap in agribusiness through teaching innovation. An invited talk by Dominic Bria and Jacob Webb (Utah State University) addressed teaching AI skills to agricultural producers and students. A focus group discussion led by Jennifer Clark and Stamatina Kotsakou examined how AI is reshaping agribusiness teaching, continuing the committee’s ongoing attention to agribusiness education.
• Graduate student development. Incoming Chair Abdelaziz Lawani supervised the M.S. research of two Tennessee State University students, Oluwabukola Daramola and Abraham Barson, both of whom had their studies accepted and presented as posters at the 2026 annual meeting — a direct example of WERA-72’s role in developing early-career researchers.
• Greater coordination and dissemination across states and regions. The committee discussed concrete steps to improve year-round coordination, including a proposed AI use-case repository, a possible WERA-72 website (with Montana State offering to host), a LinkedIn presence to extend reach beyond the group’s mailing list, and more frequent subgroup or working-group meetings between annual gatherings.

Outputs

• Seven selected papers were presented across two sessions at the 2026 annual meeting, addressing AI strategy and adoption, cooperative financial benchmarking, functional classification of agricultural AI innovation, AI-enabled food-label analysis, machine-learning approaches to consumer choice, information economics in pest management, and AI in agribusiness teaching.
• Three posters were presented, covering ecolabel issuer identity and consumer choice, the impact of generative AI training on Tennessee extension professionals, and the functionality of taro and breadfruit in Hawaiian food systems.
• WERA-72 participants produced numerous peer-reviewed publications, extension reports, and conference presentations over the reporting period, spanning topics from generative AI adoption in extension, to local and value-added food marketing, to farm succession planning and risk preferences; a consolidated list is included below.
• A national, two-day professional-development initiative on responsible use of generative AI for Cooperative Extension professionals was developed and delivered by Abdelaziz Lawani, reaching participants from more than 30 states.
• A WERA-72 webinar, “Industry Expectations for Recent Graduates in Agribusiness and Agricultural Economics,” was delivered in April 2025 (Stamatina Kotsakou), part of the committee’s ongoing webinar series discussed in the business meeting.
• Discussion was initiated on a proposed AI use-case repository for agribusiness education and extension, to be developed further by Abdelaziz Lawani and interested members.

Activities

• Artificial intelligence in agribusiness was the central focus of the 2026 WERA-72 annual meeting. Bret Turpin, of Autonomous Solutions Incorporated, gave the keynote address on AI and automation in agriculture, followed by an industry panel exploring practical AI adoption challenges with representatives from Agriform Seed, USDA Insurance, and the Intermountain Farmers Association.
• Ten annual meeting participants joined the agribusiness tour to Chad’s Raspberry Kitchen field and canning plant and LaBeau’s Drive-In in the Bear Lake area of northern Utah, focused on regional specialty-crop production and processing.
• An invited talk on teaching AI skills to agricultural producers and students was given by Dominic Bria and Jacob Webb of Utah State University.
• A focus group discussion on AI’s interaction with agribusiness teaching, co-facilitated by Jennifer Clark and Stamatina Kotsakou, continued the committee’s tradition of dedicated sessions on teaching scholarship.
• The business meeting included officer reports, a treasurer’s report and vote to form an internal financial audit team, and a preview of the proposed 2027 annual meeting theme and format from incoming Chair Abdelaziz Lawani.
• Beyond the annual meeting, WERA-72 participants remained active in adjacent multistate and professional venues, including the 2025 and 2026 AAEA Annual Meetings, the 2026 SAEA meeting, the Southern Regional Science Association, AIARD, and other WERA-72-adjacent conferences (Abdelaziz Lawani).

Milestones

• WERA-72 will continue to host a multi-day annual meeting in 2027, with a proposed theme of “Building the Next Agribusiness Economy” and format options still under discussion between the committee and incoming Chair Abdelaziz Lawani.
• The committee will pursue an internal financial audit of WERA-72 accounts, to be completed within 60 days of the 2026 meeting or in time for the July committee report.
• The committee will continue exploring communication infrastructure, including a possible website, LinkedIn presence, and AI use-case repository, to improve dissemination and year-round engagement.
• The committee will continue to explore rolling USDA funding opportunities (workforce development and Critical Agricultural Research and Extension funding) to support future workshops or an expanded/co-located 2027 meeting.

Grants, Contracts, and Other Resources Obtained

“USDA Higher Education Challenge Systems Thinking/Dynamics Faculty Fellowship,” Herchenbach, J. S. Sponsored by USDA and University of Nebraska, Federal. (July 2025 – August 2026).

“Backward Design Initiative,” Herchenbach, J. S. Sponsored by University of Nebraska at Kearney, $3,000.00. (January 2026 – December 2026).

Dennis, Elliot and T. Jake Smith. 2025. “Understanding the Tyson Lexington Plant Closure: What It Means for Cattle Producers.” Center for Agricultural Profitability, Dec. 12.

Team: Westphal, A. (UC Riverside), R.B. Lopes (UCANR), S. Asci (Fresno State, PI), and A. Levi (Co-PI). “Making anaerobic soil disinfestation economically feasible for use as preplant soil treatment for almond and walnut.” USDA-NIFA-ICGP-010334 grant (Fresno State team budget – $82,865.00): 2025–2028.

Ventura County Department of Agricultural/Weights & Measures: “Grown in Ventura County” Brand Development and Implementation (SALC-2E). $120,000 joint award with the University of California, Davis (Cal Poly’s subaward $46,543). Kotsakou, S. (Cal Poly team). June 2025.

Presentations

Included for the committee’s use; not part of the required SAES-422 fields, retained from prior reports.

Selected papers presented at the 2026 WERA-72 Annual Meeting, Logan, UT:

• Cui, Xiurui and Trey Malone (Purdue University). “Why Most Agribusiness AI Strategies Never Get Past Pilots.”
• Kenkel, Phil (Oklahoma State University). “Development of a ChatGPT-based Financial Benchmarking Model for Cooperatives.”
• Onel, Gulcan, Fernando J. Brito-Gonzalez, Jared Gars, and Conner Mullally (University of Florida). “Sensing, Thinking, Doing: A Functional Classification of AI Innovation in Agriculture.”
• Pan, Yuxuan and Yuqing Zheng (University of Kentucky). “Artificial Intelligence-Enabled Label Clustering and Strategic Certification Decisions in Non-GMO Food Markets.”
• Li, Youmin (University of Florida). “Consumer Perceptions and Olive Oil Choice: An Integrated Machine-Learning Approach for Measurement, Segmentation, and Prediction.”
• Lee, Hyewon and David A. Hennessy (Iowa State University). “Beyond the Threshold: Costly Information and the Implementation of IPM.”
• Johnson, Aaron J., Ashley A. Schiffer, Logan L. Britton, Donald A. Saucier, and Nellie Hill-Sullins (Kansas State University; Schiffer: Denison University). “Teaching With, Not Against, AI: A Proactive Classroom Framework.”

Posters presented at the 2026 WERA-72 Annual Meeting, Logan, UT:

• Daramola, Oluwabukola and Abdelaziz Lawani (Tennessee State University). “Does Who Says It Matter? Ecolabel Issuer Identity and Halo Effects in Consumer Egg Choices.”
• Barson, Abraham, Abdelaziz Lawani, and Jason De Koff (Tennessee State University). “Impact of GenAI Training in Public Service: The Case of Agricultural Extension Professionals in Tennessee.”
• Mattson, Keahilele (Fresno State University). “Kalo and ʻUlu: Taro and Breadfruit’s Functionality in Hawaiʻi.”

Other presentations by WERA-72 participants:

• Herchenbach, J. S. (Author & Presenter). Nebraska Cooperative Council (NCC) Intern Retreat, “Cooperatives’ Role and Value,” Kearney, NE. (June 11, 2026).
• Herchenbach, J. S. Gold Standard in Academic Advising, “Beyond the Appointment: Building Meaningful Student Relationships,” UNK Academic Advising Task Force, Kearney. (April 28, 2026).
• Herchenbach, J. S. and G. Grispos (Authors & Presenters). Mountain Plains Business Conference, “Securing the Digital Harvest: Cybersecurity as a Core Agribusiness Skill,” Omaha, NE. (October 17, 2025).
• Moschini, GianCarlo and T. Jake Smith (presenter). “Alternative Marketing Arrangements and Cattle Prices: Insights from Hotelling’s Model.” AAEA Annual Meeting, Denver, CO. July 2025.
• Smith, T. Jake (presenter). “Understanding the Tyson Plant Closure: Market Implications for the Beef Industry.” Center for Agricultural Profitability Webinar, Dec. 2025.
• Saghaian, S. (invited presentation). “The Effects of Agricultural Product Exports on Environmental Quality.” The 12th Annual Conference of Analytics, July 22–24, 2026, Helsinki, Finland.
• Saghaian, S. (presenter), M. Ansarinasab, and H. Saghaeiannejad-Esfahani. “Health, Environmental Quality, and the Coronavirus Pandemic in Europe.” 36th Annual IFAMA World Agribusiness Conference and Symposium, June 15–16, 2026, Cork, Ireland.
• Saghaian, S. (presenter), M.K. Yazdi, H. Mohammadi, and A. Karbasi. “Factors Affecting Bread Selection: Strategies for Promoting High-Quality Bread Consumption.” FDRS Annual Meeting, October 12–14, 2025, San Diego, CA.
• Asci, S., V. Fraga, and G. Banuelos. “Economic analysis of the recycled use of saline effluent produced from reverse osmosis on the irrigation in Central California.” Selected presentation, Annual WAEA meeting, June 2026, Flagstaff, AZ.
• Westphal, A., T. Buzo, R. Branco Lopes, S. Asci, and A. Levi. “Reducing costs of anaerobic soil disinfestation as preplant treatment.” Methyl Bromide Alternatives Outreach, October 27–29, 2025, San Diego, CA.
• Fraga, V., S. Asci, G. Banuelos, and I. Arroyo. “Economic and Agricultural Feasibility of Reverse Osmosis (RO) Irrigation Treatment.” April 22, 2026, Fresno, CA.
• Fraga, V., and S. Asci. “Economic and Agricultural Feasibility of Reverse Osmosis (RO) Irrigation Treatment.” 2026 World Ag Expo, Feb. 10, 2026, Tulare, CA.
• Lawani, A. (invited keynote). “Bringing Generative AI to the Field: Adoption, Training, and Innovation in U.S. Agricultural Extension.” Southern Region Mini Land-Grant Conference, Fayetteville, AR, 2025.
• Lawani, A. (invited teacher workshop). “Teach Smarter, Not Harder: Generative AI Tools for Agricultural Classrooms.” 98th National FFA Convention, Indianapolis, IN, 2025.
• Lawani, A. (invited presentation). “Helping the Extension Community Navigate the Emerging AI Landscape.” Extension Foundation, 2025.
• Kotsakou, S. (presenter). “Industry Expectations for Recent Graduates in Agribusiness and Agricultural Economics.” WERA-72 webinar, April 2025.
• Kotsakou, S., and K. Kiesel. “Do Consumers with Health and Dietary Concerns Consume More Plant-Based Meat? Pairing Consumers’ Meat-Purchasing Decisions with their Health Status and Diet.” Presented at the 66th Annual Food Distribution Research Society Conference, San Diego, CA, October 12–14, 2025, and at the WERA-72 Annual Meeting, Fresno, CA, June 4–5, 2025.
• Kotsakou, S., and P. Mérel. “Consumer Demand for Plant-Based Meat and the Competition with Animal Proteins.” Selected poster at the European Association of Agricultural Economics Meeting (EAAE), August 26–29, 2025, Bonn, Germany, and the AAEA/WAEA Joint Annual Meeting, July 27–29, 2025, Denver, CO.
• Woods, T. et al. “University partnerships to improve farmers market price transparency.” Poster, Extension Risk Management Education National Conference, Salt Lake City, UT, April 14, 2026.
• Woods, T., M. Zare Mehrjerdi, and J. Rossi. “Shifting Local Food Interest Across Kentucky Consumers: Pre and Post COVID19 Comparisons.” Poster, Southern Agricultural Economics Association annual meeting, Louisville, KY, January 31–February 3, 2026.
• Woods, T., and J. Rossi. “CSA as Medicine.” National Agricultural Marketing Summit, Indianapolis, IN, Nov 12–14, 2025.
• Woods, T., and J. Rossi. “Wholesale Expansion for Food Businesses: Lessons Learned from an Evaluation of LFPP Projects.” National Agricultural Marketing Summit, Indianapolis, IN, Nov 12–14, 2025.
• Woods, T., S. Zhao, and H. Hosni. “From Convenience to Conscience: A Field Experiment on Influencing Local and Eco-Friendly Milk Purchases Through Habit Formation.” Poster, European Association of Agricultural Economics annual meeting, Bonn, Germany, August 26–29, 2025.
• Woods, T. “The Specialty Crop Labor Puzzle: Why Finding Solutions is So Hard.” Session organizer/discussant, AAEA annual meeting, Denver, CO, July 27–29, 2025.
• Woods, T., H. Hosni, and S. Zhao. “Buy, Return, Repeat? A Field Experiment on Glass-Bottled Milk.” AAEA annual meeting, Denver, CO, July 27–29, 2025.
• Woods, T. “UK CSA Voucher Research Overview.” UK Benefits and Wellness staff training, Lexington, KY, May 8, 2026.
• Woods, T. “MarketReady Dairy training/Dairy Products Buyer Panel.” Southeast Value-Added Dairy Conference, Knoxville, TN, July 31–Aug 2, 2025.
• Woods, T., C. Nutley, and A. Thompson. “MarketReady Advanced Topics: Packaging.” Online, March 28, 2025.
• Woods, T. “Retail Readiness Marketing Workshop, Marketing Trends, Retail Grocer Panel” (with KDA, KCARD), Elizabethtown, KY, March 25, 2025.
• Woods, T. “MarketReady Core Training — West Virginia Department of Ag,” train-the-trainer/producer training, Charleston, WV, February 25–26, 2025.
• Woods, T. “The Resilience of Demand for Place-Based Branding.” Keynote presentation, PickTN Conference, Nashville, TN, February 13–15, 2025.
• Woods, T. “Applying Britain’s Best to Agritourism.” PickTN Conference, Nashville, TN, February 13–15, 2025.
• Wolff, B., G. Cassone, J. Rossi, and T. Woods. “Kentucky Consumer Value in Local Food.” Economic and Policy Update (26):4–5, Department of Agricultural Economics, University of Kentucky, May/June 2026.
• Burdine, K., G. Gardner, J. Pierce, J. Shockley, W. Snell, J. Stowe, and T. Woods. “Ag Economic Situation and Outlook: U.S. and Kentucky, 2025–2026.” Department of Agricultural Economics, University of Kentucky, December 29, 2025.
• Woods, T., and Alba J. Collart. “Where Does My Food Come From? What Google Searchers Want to Know.” Southern Ag Today 5(4.5). January 24, 2025.

National/International Outreach

• Serhat Asci – Honorable Faculty Publications recognition, 29th annual event of The Library, Fresno, CA (2026).
• Abdelaziz Lawani – Incoming Chair, WERA-72.
• Abdelaziz Lawani – Member, APLU AI Steering Group.
• Abdelaziz Lawani – Member, ECOP AI Program Action Team.
• Abdelaziz Lawani – Developed and delivered a national, two-day professional-development initiative on responsible use of generative AI for Cooperative Extension professionals, reaching participants from more than 30 states; also delivered “Teach Smarter, Not Harder” at the 98th National FFA Convention, and more than seven agribusiness management and entrepreneurship training sessions reaching over 100 farmers.
• Stamatina Kotsakou – Richardson-Applebaum Outstanding Graduate Research on Food Distribution and Marketing Award, Food Distribution Research Society, August 2025.
• [Section to be expanded with additional national/international outreach items as provided.]

Publications

McCarty, T., Thayer, A. W., & Johnson, A. J. (2026). Beyond Business as Usual: Rethinking Agribusiness Education for Changing Students and Work. Applied Economics Education and Extension (AEEE), 8(3).

Boussios, D., Boetel, B., & McCarty, T. (2026). Changes to Hog Formulas: Swapping Negotiated Hogs With Pork Cutout Values. Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy, 48(2), 462–472.

McCarty, T., & Sesmero, J. (2026). Do Proposed and Enacted Contract Farming Regulations Really Raise Farmer Income? Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy, 48(2), 408–423.

Moschini, GianCarlo and T. Jake Smith. 2026. “Spatial Price Competition and Buyer Power in the US Beef Packing Industry.” American Journal of Agricultural Economics 108(3): 771–798.

Herchenbach, J. S., Briggeman, B. C., Bergtold, J., Shanoyan, A., Low, S., Miller, B. (in press). Environmental Scanning: An Application to Agricultural Cooperatives. Journal of Cooperatives.

Herchenbach, J. S., Briggeman, B. C., Bergtold, J., Trudo, C. (2025). Valuing Trust: An Application to Agricultural Lending. Agricultural Finance Review, 85(4-5), 513–525.

Saghaian, S., M.K. Yazdi, H. Mohammadi, and A. Karbasi. (2026). “Factors Affecting Bread Selection: Strategies for Promoting High-Quality Bread Consumption.” Journal of Food Distribution Research, 57(1), 1–7.

Asci, S., T. Lone and P. Xu. (2026). “Juggling between Students and Industry Needs: Redesigning an Academic Agribusiness Program.” Applied Economic Teaching Resources. Doi: 10.71162/aetr.881295.

Inthavong, D., V. Lee, H. Chamberlin, H. Cecotti, S. Asci, F.C. Sharma, D. Goorahoo, S. Konduru, R. Dahlquist-Willard, and S. Laha. (2026). “Accessible Soil Moisture Sensor System for Small Farmers of San Joaquin Valley, CA.” IEEE Transactions on AgriFood Electronics, 4(1), 436–443.

Hovhannisyan, V., A. Khachatryan, and S. Asci. (2025). “A Comprehensive Analysis of Urban-Rural Differences: The Case of Food Consumption in China.” European Review of Agricultural Economics.

Lawani, A., de Koff, J., Muriuki, J., & Ihuhwa, A.-L. (2025). Determinants of knowledge and usage of generative artificial intelligence in agricultural extension: Evidence from Tennessee Extension personnel. Agribusiness, 1–14. First published online September 12, 2025.

Lawani, A., Ihuhwa, A.-L., & Poghosyan, A. (2026). What Explains Differences in Farm Succession Planning? Evidence from Decomposition and Counterfactual Analysis. Submitted to Agribusiness (revise and resubmit).

Lawani, A., Ihuhwa, A.-L., & Poghosyan, A. (2026). Complementarity, Substitutability, and the Sustainability Halo: Evidence from a Synthetic-Agent Discrete Choice Experiment on Ecolabels, Brand Messaging, and Packaging. Working paper.

Lawani, A. (2026). When Information Is Not Enough: Causal Evidence on Perceived Access and Farmer Participation in USDA Programs. Working paper.

Varziri, A., Woods, T., & Zhao, S. (2026). Consumer Perceptions of Farmers Market Performance: A Comparative Analysis Across States and Age Groups. Journal of the Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.

Rossi, J., Woods, T., & Zhao, S. (2026). Who Wants a Vegetable Box? A Latent Class Logit Segmentation of Motivations in a Cost-Offset Community Supported Agriculture Program. Food Quality and Preference. Accepted online February 2026.

Varziri, A., Woods, T., Rossi, J., & Zhao, S. (2025). Local Food System Vitality in the Southern U.S.: A Resident Perspective. Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development. Advance online publication.

Kotsakou, S., Walters, C., Banerjee, S., & Schoengold, K. (2025). Safety-First? A Context-Rich Experimental Study of the Role of Safety-First Risk Preferences in a Post-Harvest Grain Marketing Setting. Agricultural Finance Review. Accepted 10/10/2025.

Kotsakou, S., & Kiesel, K. (2025). “Grown in Ventura County” Brand and Messaging Development for the Ventura County Department of Agricultural/Weights & Measures.