News

Assistant Professor Rabail Chandio published in the most recent issue of Journal of the Agricultural and Applied Economics Association. Chandio authored the article "Similarities in the US Department of Agriculture international baseline projections" with Professor Ani Katchova of The Ohio State University. Their article uses a dynamic time warping algorithm to examine whether USDA's corn, soybean, and wheat baselines exhibit a lack of significant distance, which would indicate similarity in projections across countries.

Professors Lee Schulz and John Crespi contributed an article, ""Who wins and who loses with the Perry pork plant closure", to Wallaces Farmer. Schulz and Crespi examine the announced closing of Tyson Foods' Perry, Iowa, pork processing plant in June, and how it will affect pork packers.

Research Scientist Phil Gassman published in the latest issue of Environmental Research Letters. Gassman, with Taiwo Akinyemi and Levan Elbakidze (West Virginia University), Yuelu Xu (Manaaki Whenua Landcare Research), Haw Yen (Bayer Crop Science), and Jeffery G. Arnold (USDA Agricultural Research Service), authored the article "Cross-Watershed Leakage of Agricultural Nutrient Runoff."

Gassman receives USDA-ARS grant

Research Scientist Phil Gassman received a $34,854 grant from the USDA Agricultural Research Service for the project "Developing Climate Based Ag Management Operation Scheduling and Natural Infrastructure Practices in the National Agroecosystem Model." The project will parameterize agricultural field operations and natural infrastructure practices for input to the SWAT (Soil and Water Assessment Tool) model. Field operations will include planting and harvest, tillage, fertilizer applications, and irrigation. The scheduling of operations will be based on climate and crop conditions and sensitive to changes in climate. Natural infrastructure practices include wetlands, water and sediment control basins, beaver dams, and saturated buffers. Methodologies will be developed to incorporate the natural infrastructure practices into the National Agroecosystem Model (NAM). The model will be available for use in developing national conservation policy as part of CEAP (Conservation Effects Assessment Project) and for business-as-usual and aspirational scenarios as part of LTAR (Long Term Agroecosystem Research).

An article authored by Associate Professor Alejandro Plastina appears on Farms.com. Plastina wrote the article "Cover-Crop Acres Up in Texas, Stagnant Across Rest of the South" with Wendiam Sawadgo, an assistant professor at Auburn.

Reaching Regions Launches on Iowa State University Digital Press

Ames, Iowa – Researchers from Iowa State University, the North American Regional Science Council (NARSC), and West Virginia University have partnered to launch a new academic journal, Reaching Regions, hosted on Iowa State’s Digital Press.

Elobeid wins Interdisciplinary Team Research Award

Amani Elobeid is a member of the RegenPGC team that was named the 2024 recipient of the Interdisciplinary Team Research Award, an award given to reflect a team's commitment to ISU, professional reputation, and esteem among peers. The team also includes Raj Raman, Kenneth Moore, Daniel Andersen, Cynthia Bartel, Shuizhang Fei, Susana Goggi, Amy Kaleita, Anne Kinzel, Thomas Lubbersted, and Marshall McDaniel.

Smith Wins AAEA's Outstanding Doctoral Dissertation Award

T. Jake Smith, a postdoctoral researcher at CARD, was named recipient of the Agricultural & Applied Economics Association's prestigious Outstanding Doctoral Dissertation Award. Smith was nominated for his dissertation "Agricultural production in the 21st century: Technology adoption, adaptation, and market power" for which he also won the CARD Award for Best Ph.D. Dissertation in Agricultural, Environmental, and Energy Economics and Policy. Smith's dissertation is comprised of studies on three significant developments in US agricultural markets during the twenty-first century: the adoption of genetically engineered (GE) corn seed, the implementation of the 2007 Renewable Fuel Standard, and rising concerns over market power in the beef packing industry.

Soil Management and Land Valuation Conference Is May 15

AMES, Iowa – Farm managers, rural appraisers, real estate brokers and others interested in the Iowa land market can receive timely updates at this year’s Soil Management and Land Valuation Conference May 15 in Ames.

Schulz promoted to professor

Lee Schulz, CARD economist and Extension livestock economist, has been promoted from associate professor to professor. Schulz earned his PhD in economics from Kansas State University in 2012 and joined Iowa State University's Department of Economics as an assistant professor that same year. He was then promoted to associate professor in 2018.

Plastina co-authors article for Journal of the ASFMRA

Associate Professor Alejandro Plastina co-authored an article for the 2024 Journal of the ASFMRA (American Society of Farm Managers and Rural Appraisers). Plastina wrote "By How Much Can Appraised Farm Values Differ Across Appraisers?" with Wendong Zhang of Cornell and Wendiam Sawadgo of Auburn University. The article compares 54 appraisal reports, completed by nine Certified General Appraisers for three Iowa farms at two points in time (2019 and 2020), to evaluate the variability of appraised values and the causes.

(Released April 2024)

CARD collaborator Jerome Dumortier and CARD faculty John Crespi and Dermot Hayes, along with USDA researchers Molly Burress, Adriana Valcu-Lisman, and Jan Lewandrowski, published an article in the journal Biofuels, Bioproducts & Biorefining. Their article, Regional economic aspects of carbon markets and anaerobic digesters in the USA: the case of swine production, examines the benefits and costs of anaerobic digesters on swine farms. The authors find that carbon payments would be a stronger determinant than energy prices in farm-level decisions to install anaerobic digesters, but that energy prices would be influential in determining the optimal biogas end use.

Pudenz, Smith win CARD Award for Best Ph.D. Dissertation in Agricultural, Environmental, and Energy Economics and Policy

CARD Director John Crespi announced Drs. Christopher Pudenz and Timothy (Jake) Smith as recipients of the CARD Award for Best PhD Dissertation in Agricultural, Environmental, and Energy Economics Policy for 2024. Pudenz and Smith will both receive a $500 prize, and will have their names added to the Dissertation Award winners plaque in the CARD suite in Heady Hall.

Survey: Iowans Prefer Electric Suppliers Invest in Solar over Wind, Nuclear, Fossil Fuels

Ames, IA – In 2022, wind power accounted for 62% of Iowa’s electricity net generation, according to the US Energy Information Administration. In fact, Iowa’s wind power industry has grown so much that only one state—Texas—produces more of its own electricity from wind.

Harris-Lagoudakis article accepted at Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy

Dr. Katie Harris-Lagoudakis's article "The New Normal: Grocery Shopping Behavior Changes Before and After the COVID-19 Vaccine" has been accepted at Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy.

Kalna-Dubinyuk to present at ISCORE

Post-doctoral Research Associate Tetyana Kalna-Dubinyuk will present at the Iowa State Conference on Race and Ethnicity (ISCORE) on Thursday, February 29, 2024, from 3:10 pm-4 pm at the Memorial Union on the Iowa State campus. Kalna-Dubinyuk will present "The Power of Having a Sense of Belonging" with Fally Masambuksa-Kanchewa, Assistant Professor of Agricultural Communication.

Assistant Professor Guilherme DePaula published an invited article in VoxDev. DePaula authored "Bundled contracts and technological diffusion caused the Brazilian soybean boom." DePaula's article examines the introduction of a private, bundled contract that addresses the multiple barriers to technological diffusion in the Brazilian Savanna and demonstrates that a contractual innovation was at the heart of the transformation of the Brazilian Savanna into a major global source of soybeans.

Plastina publishes in Carbon Balance and Management

Associate Professor Alejandro Plastina published an article in the most recent issue of Carbon Balance and Management. Plastina, with Haeun Jo of Iowa State University and Oranuch Wongpiyabovorn of South Dakota State University, authored the article "The business case for carbon farming in the USA." The article examines the potential effects of alternative private payment regimes, prices paid to farmers relative to out-of-pocket costs, and the availability of information on CO2 sequestration, on the adoption of cover crops and no-till in the United States, the resulting CO2 sequestration, and changes in farmers’ net returns. Results indicate that agricultural carbon markets can be profitable for U.S. farmers, although with substantial geographic variability, and that annual carbon sequestration could range between 17 and 75 million mtCO2e.

Associate Professor Lee Schulz spoke with Swineweb for the article "Challenges Persist for Hog Industry in 2024 Despite Potential Improvements." The article examines what the coming year may bring for US hog producers, after 2023 proved a challenging year. Schulz told Swineweb that he was leaning toward contraction in the national hog herd for 2024. He noted that the ongoing trend of breeding herd contraction may offer some market support.

Professor Chad Hart was interviewed by Southern Farm Network for the article "Grower Level Concerns and Stories for 2024." The story examines the factors that may impact farmers' bottom lines in 2024. Hart said that the income effect will have an impact on international markets. "Because especially on the meat side, what we do often see is that as income growth occurs in countries, there’s a definite shift in the proteins that they’re demanding in the way that they absorb those at the same time, too. We’re trying to figure out how to deal with the different cultural practices that they have. It’s all in managing and working with that consumer."