National Association of Agricultural Economics Administrators holds biennial meeting
USDA REE Mission Area and FFAR leadership pay visit, Farm Bureau economist and National Journal reporter give input
Oct. 28, 2019 — At its biennial meeting in Washington, the National Association of Agricultural Economics Administrators (NAAEA) discussed ongoing communication, federal funding, policy and even media pitching.
The NAAEA is the preeminent organization of administrators of university departments, foundations and public agencies that support agricultural economics, resource economics and agribusiness management, teaching, research and extension/outreach programming.
Members, leadership of the Agricultural and Applied Economics Association (AAEA) and board members of C-FARE were hosted by Arizona State University at its Barbara Barrett and Sandra Day O’Connor Washington Center, in a conference room with a wide, wrapping terrace just blocks from the White House. ASU offered its facility to the NAAEA gratis.
Visitors during the day included national program leaders from federal funding agencies, including the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, the Environmental Protection Agency and the National Science Foundation. AAEA President Keith Coble updated participants on the group’s strategic plan development. Sally Rockey, executive director for the Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research (FFAR), highlighted successful collaborations of funding and expertise between academia and industry that served to enhance the economics and sustainability of the food supply.
An economist from the American Farm Bureau Federation, John Newton, provided insights on the importance of communicating economic research and analysis to key decision-makers, as well as considering the timing of such communication. Similarly, Jerry Hagstrom, a longtime reporter for the National Journal and founder of the Hagstrom Report, a dedicated agricultural and agribusiness news service, discussed the kinds of stories he expects to cover in the near future, and the best way to propose coverage and pitch ideas.
“This two-day program provided the opportunity for administrators to focus on how to improve on existing collaborations between higher education institutions across the U.S. and the U.S. Department of Agriculture and other aligned agencies, as well as identify opportunities to partner on key challenges in food and agriculture research,” said Eluned Jones, chair of the NAAEA and professor and director of the Ness School of Management and Economics at South Dakota State University.
The following day, members paid visits to Capitol Hill offices representing the districts and states of their universities. The meetings were capped by the annual Jon Brandt Public Policy Forum that took place inside the House Agriculture Committee hearing room — a panel discussion entitled, Approaches for Bolstering Rural America’s Future: A Spotlight on Infrastructure, Entrepreneurship and Rural Health.
The Council on Food, Agricultural and Resource Economics was created in 1993 to enhance the impact of agricultural and applied economics research and the application and use of findings by raising its profile among relevant policymakers and lawmakers.