Food
Environment
Trade
Risk
BiorenewablesAbout the Directors of CARD
Earl O. Heady (Director 1958-1984)
Earl Heady earned international acclaim for his contributions in developing theory, experimental designs, quantitative analyses and economic interpretation for interdisciplinary research between economists and technical scientists. He was director of CARD from 1958 to 1984 and Iowa State's first distinguished professor of agriculture.
Under Heady's direction, CARD grew into an internationally renowned agricultural policy center. Heady was ingenious for his use of economic modeling, which allowed agricultural decision-making to become much more scientific.
Traditionally, farmers and others relied on experience and observations to make important decisions, such as buying and selling commodities. Modeling made it possible for analysts to evaluate many interrelated factors that affect farm income and performance.
A simple model, for example, could incorporate a farmer's resources (cash, debt, fertilizer use, acreage, herd size, etc.) to determine the best way to maximize profits. Heady traveled extensively throughout the world, working in Costa Rica, Ethiopia, France, Guatemala, Indonesia, and Pakistan.
Fast fact: In 1968, Heady organized the East-West Seminar, a gathering of 48 economists from 18 countries to discuss agricultural economics.
Stanley R. Johnson (Director 1985-1996)
Stanley Johnson came from the University of Missouri-Columbia to Iowa State in March 1985 to succeed Earl Heady as director of CARD. He was named a Charles F. Curtiss Distinguished Professor of Agriculture in 1990.
Johnson bolstered new research areas in CARD, including food and nutrition policy and agricultural trade policy. He recruited talented faculty, staff and students to the Center to strengthen CARD's research capabilities and broaden its policy contributions.
Johnson also refocused Heady's well-known international work, forging research exchanges with many developing countries, most prominently with former Soviet republics. He started two popular annual policy conferences, the Fall Agricultural Policy Conference and the National Forum for Agriculture, to bring a diverse group together for discussion on U.S. agricultural issues.
Johnson's 11-year term as director concluded when he was appointed vice provost for Extension in 1996, a position he held until his retirement from ISU in 2006.
Fast fact: Much of the analysis used by Congress leading up to the 1985 farm bill—at a time of crisis for American agriculture—came from CARD under Johnson's leadership.
Bruce A. Babcock (Director 1999-present)
The third and current director of CARD, Professor Bruce Babcock accepted the position in 1998, after serving five years as head of the Resource and Environmental Policy Division at the Center. His environmental economics research looked at ways to increase the cost-benefit ratios of agricultural conservation programs.
As director, Babcock has expanded CARD's research programs into new areas of analysis in science and technology policy, bi orenewables policy, and risk management policy. In risk management, he works with the USDA's Risk Management Agency to rate existing insurance products and to create innovative new products.
Babcock has guided an anticipatory philosophy within CARD that moves the Center's resources and expertise toward the next policy questions on the horizon. CARD's research on the impacts of biofuels on agriculture is one example.
Babcock has been called upon by Congress and the USDA numerous times to share his expertise on a variety of topics, from weaknesses in the crop insurance program to the effects of renewable fuel mandates. He is in high demand as a conference speaker and as an expert for media reporters nationwide.
Fast fact: Babcock directs a budget of around $4 million in CARD, of which about 84 percent comes from grants and contracts.
Note: Interim director for the years 1996-1998 was William Meyers, who had served as Stan Johnson's assistant director.