Become a Better Farm Manager with MAST

Enroll now for the Management, Analysis and Strategic Thinking program. The winter workshop includes two interactive on-campus sessions starting Nov. 15-16, 2011, and concluding Feb. 21-22, 2012.

Between on-campus sessions, participants also complete self-paced online video modules on the topics of land, machinery, finanical analysis human resources, risk management, taxes and policies, and livestock and grain marketing.

Pricing and enrollment is posted on AgManager.info/MAST.

KFMA Introduces New Area Economists

The Kansas Farm Management Association welcomes the following area economists.

Scott Laird

Scott Laird, Southwest
Scott Laird grew up farming in Knoxville, Iowa, raising hogs and purebred Limousin cattle. In 1986 he graduated from MidAmerica Nazarene University with a bachelor’s degree in agribusiness. He returned home to farm with his in-laws and operate a livestock sale barn. He completed a master’s degree in agricultural education at Iowa State University in 1994.

Laird spent 18 years at MidAmerica Nazarene University teaching agribusiness courses and managing the university farm. He and his wife Tammy have three grown sons and a daughter-in-law. He enjoys reading, running and sports.

 

Travis Heiman

Travis Heiman, Northeast
Travis Heiman is originally from Baileyville, Kan., where his family still raises corn and soybeans. They also feed Holstein heifers for a neighbor.

He earned an associate’s degree in agribusiness from Cloud County Community College in 2001. In 2003, Heiman earned his bachelor’s degree in animal science with an emphasis in business and master of agribusiness in 2011, both from Kansas State University.

Prior to joining KFMA, he worked with Dairy Farmers of America in Kansas City, Mo. He and his wife Julie have two daughters. He enjoys spending time with his family and watching sports.

Ag Management, Economics Grad Fellowships Offered

K-State Agricultural Economics will offer new graduate fellowships next year in agricultural management and economics with emphasis on resource economics and alternative energy.

The fellowships are funded by the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) National Needs Graduate Fellowship Program.

Paid assistantships will be awarded to outstanding students entering the M.S. and Ph.D.  programs during Spring 2012 or Fall 2012.

These unique fellowships will prepare graduates to work effectively in interdisciplinary teams addressing the production of biofuels and other renewable energy from agricultural feedstocks and its interface with the environment and rural economy.

For more information contact Jeff Williams at jwilliam@agecon.ksu.edu. Jeff Peterson, associate professor, Jason Bergtold, assistant professor, and Michael Langemeier, professor, all of agricultural economics, were also instrumental in obtaining funding.

2nd Animal Health Industry Seminar Set for Oct. 11 at K-State Olathe

An upcoming seminar will address USDA regulations in the animal health industry. (Photo courtesy K-State College of Veterinary Medicine.)

The Department of Agricultural Economics will host a luncheon seminar on animal health regulations from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., Tuesday, Oct. 11, at the K-State Olathe Campus.

The seminar, the second in the Animal Health Corridor Lecture Series, will address USDA regulations for the animal health industry.

Speakers will include Dr. Byron Rippke, director of policy, evaluation and licensing for the USDA APHIS’ Center for Veterinary Biologics, and Dr. Carol Rinehart, director of poultry and cattle vaccines research and development for CEVA Biomune.

“Regulatory compliance is critical in our current environment,” said Kara Ross, research assistant professor and program leader. “Animal health industry professionals have continually expressed the need to have more access to expertise and resources regarding regulatory affairs.”

The newly formed Animal Health Supply Chain Program helps animal health organizations improve credibility through regulatory compliance. As a result, companies are able to increase competitiveness and create more job opportunities, Ross said.

Ticket information is available online at ageconomics.ksu.edu under Events. RSVP by Oct. 3. Tickets include lunch.

For more information, contact Dr. Kara Ross at (785) 532-3536 or kross@agecon.ksu.edu.

EPA Recommends K-State Watershed Plan

The Lower Big Blue and Lower Little Blue Rivers are part of a watershed draining into Tuttle Creek Lake. The EPA recently commended a watershed plan by staff from the K-State Office of Local Government.

A watershed plan for two Kansas rivers has been recognized as one of the nation’s best, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.

Staff from the Office of Local Government in K-State’s Department of Agricultural Economics helped develop a watershed plan for the Lower Big Blue and Lower Little Blue Rivers, a transboundary watershed in northern Kansas and southern Nebraska. The watershed drains into Tuttle Creek Lake, a flood control reservoir near Manhattan, Kan. The lake is impaired by phosphorus, total suspended solids and atrazine.

The EPA review states, “While the plan only addresses Kansas’ portion of the watershed, it is overall an excellent watershed-based plan. Every required component was fully addressed, and the information for components B-I were presented in an especially effective manner. The tables and maps made the information easy to read and digest and all of the information was tied back to meeting the goals of the plan; there was little extraneous information. It was also one of the few plans that included a brief explanation of the model used in the analysis, including why the model was selected, major assumptions, and data sources used.”

The review goes on to state, “Overall, the Lower Big Blue/Lower Little Blue River plan was one of the best reviewed, and it provides an excellent example of how to develop and write a watershed based plan.”

Staff members cooperating on the plan development include Josh Roe and Robert Wilson of the Office of Local Government in K-State Agricultural Economics, Sue Brown of the Kansas Center for Agricultural Resources and the Environment (KCARE) and Aleksey Sheshukov of Biological and Agricultural Engineering.

20th Symposium Examines Issues in Cooperative Finance

Brian Briggeman, ACCC director, shares his vision for the center’s future during a luncheon at the 20th Symposium on Cooperative Issues Aug. 30.

By Seleise Barrett, Arthur Capper Cooperative Center

The Arthur Capper Cooperative Center held its 20th Symposium on Cooperative Issues Aug. 30 at the K-State Alumni Center. More than 115 people attended the forum to learn about “Innovative Approaches to Cooperative Finance.”

David Barton, retiring director of the ACCC, kicked off the program sharing his expertise on income distribution and balance sheet management strategies. He was followed by a leading tax expert, Teree Castanias CPA, and a leading banking expert, Amy Gales, executive vice president of CoBank.

New ACCC director Brian Briggeman shared his vision for the future of the center during the luncheon. Cooperative scholarship students also were recognized.

The afternoon was filled with in-depth case studies on different financial planning decisions made by local cooperatives in Kansas, Nebraska and Oklahoma.

Graduate Students Win International Case Study Competition

A team of agricultural economics graduate students from the earned first place in the International Food and Agribusiness Management Association’s case study competition in Frankfurt, Germany, in June.

The K-State team of Brady Brewer, David Boussios, Cooper Morris, Jessica Johnson and Jaeljattin Jean claimed  first place in the IFAMA graduate student case study competition and executive industry interviews. They were given four hours to analyze a business case and craft an executive summary of the problem and their proposed solution.

“It was all about being ready to knock any business case out of the park,” Morris said.

The team presented their analysis and answered questions during two rounds of judging, including one in front of an audience of hundreds of agribusiness professionals, policy makers, researchers and students from around the world.

The case study focused on Grameen Danone Foods, a Bangladesh dairy marketing yogurt. The company is a joint venture between a bank and a popular yogurt brand sold in the United States.

“The problem was that this joint venture wanted to meet a sales target and net income goal, yet they also wanted to be a social company,” Brewer said. “Our solution not only had to provide value to the parent company, but also to the poverty-stricken areas in Bangladesh.

“We focused on the sales goal, tightening the supply chain and distribution system, and increasing the per-cow productivity of the small farmers.”

“Our team studied case study methods, practiced public speaking, read books, learned about hot topics in agribusiness and argued relentlessly over business solutions,” Morris said. “We won because we worked harder than the competition.”

The team received support in the form of sponsorships from the following: CHS Inc., Koch Industries, Cargill, K-State Department of Agricultural Economics and K-State Graduate Student Council.

University Grants Barton Professor Emeritus Status

Dr. David Barton

K-State president Kirk Schulz has awarded David Barton, retiring director of the Arthur Capper Cooperative Center, the designation of professor emeritus of agricultural economics. Barton’s new title is effective immediately.

Barton has served on the agricultural economics faculty at Kansas State University for 35 years, including 27 years as ACCC director. During his tenure, he published more than 200 articles, papers, proceedings, book chapters, articles and financial planning reports.

He has designed and presented management seminar curricula, led major programs on cooperative issues and developed software for strategic financial planning in agribusiness.

Barton also has held numerous leadership positions with many industry organizations such as the American Institute of Cooperation, Assocation of Cooperative Educators and National Council of Farmer Cooperatives.

Barton continues to work part time for the ACCC.

AgLink E-News: From the Department Head

Dr. David Lambert

by David Lambert

Welcome to the Class of 2015! The Department of Agricultural Economics is welcoming its largest incoming class of undergraduates in recent times.  Although exact numbers won’t be known until after the dust settles, around 120 new students will be entering our program this fall.  Approximately 380 undergraduate students have selected Agricultural Economics or Agribusiness as their majors.  We have had to split our freshman orientation class, AGEC 150, into two sections to accommodate our new majors.  Growth is stretching our resources, but it is a good problem to have!

Program quality and career opportunities available to our graduates fuel the surge in demand.  We strive to provide individual attention both in and outside of the classroom.  We challenge our students with rigorous courses, grounded in real-world applications from farming, agribusiness, and public decision making.  Consistent with President Schulz’s Vision 2025, we will continue and expand the engagement of our students in research and private industry opportunities.  Students are challenged by the research activities of our instructors.  We are providing more opportunities for students to become involved in these research projects.

New instructors and courses are being added to our undergraduate programs.  Nathan Hendricks has just returned to Kansas from completing his Ph.D. at the University of California at Davis.  He is already in the classroom, teaching our newest course (AGEC 315) covering issues important to global agriculture and food production.  This spring, Alex Shanoyan will join the agribusiness faculty. He will teach our capstone course in agribusiness, AGEC 599.  Because so many of our M.S. students wish to pursue careers in agribusiness, Alex will revitalize AGEC 890, a graduate level class on agribusiness management and strategy.

Students will benefit from the agricultural finance background of the new Director of the Arthur Capper Cooperative Center, Brian Briggeman, this spring as he teaches Agricultural Finance (AGEC 513).  One other new instructor, Keith Harris, will bring his 20 years of corporate experience to the classroom after he completes his Ph.D. at the University of Missouri in January.

We are fortunate to be adding new firepower to our current group of excellent teachers and researchers.  We welcome tomorrow’s leaders to the program.  They will have major impacts far into the future in agriculture, agribusiness, resource management, or any fields they choose to pursue.

Dalton Studies Effects of Climate Change on African Agriculture

by K-State Communications and Marketing

Climate change in Africa, including increased temperatures and decreased rainfall, is causing an uncertain future for African farmers. But an international research team that includes a Kansas State University agricultural economist hopes to bring clarity to the situation.

Timothy J. Dalton, K-State associate professor of agricultural economics, recently completed two separate research projects related to African agriculture and the effects of climate change. The projects involved African farmers’ response to using drought-tolerant maize seed and how climate change was impacting their decision-making and production systems.

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Howard G. Buffet Foundation and other charitable sources sponsored the research team’s Water Efficient Maize for Africa project. Dalton visited Africa multiple times to conduct the research, specifically working in South Africa, Tanzania and Kenya.

To gauge the effects on farmer’s decision-making, Dalton and his colleagues created a lottery-based system with certain gambles. Farmers were given an explanation of probability and discussed rainfall prior to the experiment. Two different colored chips representing positive and negative outcomes were placed in a jar in varying quantities. Positive outcomes would yield as much as a day and half’s worth of wages. For each gamble, farmers were asked if they wanted to make the gamble or accept a reduced — or safer — amount. Dalton’s team was attempting to determine the certainty equivalent or point in which farmers shifted from taking the gamble to the safe bet.

“We found most farmers switched before their expected value, and that indicated they were risk averse, just like most people up to a point,” Dalton said.

Dalton’s team later returned to the same farmers with more ambiguous information. This portion of the experiment was designed to mirror reality for many farmers. Tanzania features two rainy seasons: one short, the other long. A month typically separates the two seasons and functions as a signal for farmers to begin planting. In recent years, however, the rainy seasons have merged into one. Similarly, Kenya was experiencing decreased rainfalls, which were adversely affecting maize crops. Farmers in the country were faced with whether to continue growing maize, which fetches better prices and has better markets, or switch to drought-tolerant alternatives such as sorghum.

“They are caught in this trap without a proper signal on what to take,” Dalton said. “This what we are trying to simulate with the experiment.”

High chances of winning and ambiguous information caused many farmers to take a lesser certainty equivalent. Conservative behaviors were expected with the lack of clarity in what to plant, according to Dalton. Results were similar in all three countries as the probabilities began decreasing. When farmers reached the point where there was a 10 percent chance of winning, there was a higher certainty equivalent. Dalton attributes that to farmers believing the situation could be no worse. This illustrated that many farmers who should not be growing maize were continuing to do so at the risk of crop failure. Other farmers were not taking risks when they should be. An air of uncertainty accompanied the ambiguity.

“With climate change, information becomes less diffuse and less valuable,” Dalton said.

Potential policy responses include providing rural farmers with accurate weather data to ensure an appropriate planting period. Providing subsidies for yields, fertilizer use or approved seed were also considered. Establishing crop insurance mechanisms in Africa similar to the U.S. and developing more drought-tolerant grains were other considerations.

Drought tolerance was the focus of Dalton’s other research project: drought-tolerant varieties of maize. Farmers were presented with hypothetical new seeds and asked whether they would purchase the variety. The seed types and other important traits were varied. They also received graphical data for each variety. After being presented with the information, some farmers continued to gravitate toward the cheaper seeds, but the majority selected new drought-resistant varieties. The results were consistent in Tanzania and Kenya, but a large segment of the population was more willing to purchase herbicide-tolerant seeds in South Africa.

Dalton hopes these findings will help in the development of targeted programs to assist with purchase of drought-tolerant seed varieties. Until then, he will continue to research adaptations to climate change.

“While climate change still may be a contentious issue in the United States, many people are having to deal with it in the lower latitude and equatorial countries where changes are occurring right now,” he said. “It’s at the forefront of many people’s minds.”

Dalton presented the two sets of research at the 15th annual Conference of the International Consortium on Applied Bioeconomy Research in Frascati, Italy, in late June and at the American Association of Applied Economists annual conference in Pittsburgh, Pa., July 24.