Letter from Department Head
AAE Colleagues, Students, Alumni, and Friends:
As the UGA Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics eagerly anticipates the start of fall classes, we look forward to welcoming new and returning students and, of course, winning a national championship. Reflecting on the past year, we recognize numerous accomplishments.
In April, the department held the 20th Annual Conner Connects Awards Ceremony, highlighting the achievements of our outstanding undergraduate and graduate students. More than 40 students were recognized with scholarships and awards for their academic excellence. We are deeply grateful to our donors which include department alumni and associations across Georgia who help fund student scholarships and support the development of future leaders in Georgia agriculture, environmental stewardship, and hospitality.
One of our signature events, the annual Rod F. Ziemer Memorial Lecture hosted by the Ag Econ Grad Student Association with financial support from the Eterna Fund, featured Dr. Jay Shimshak from the University of Virginia this spring. Dr. Shimshak delivered a fascinating lecture on his research, which uses novel administrative data on over 130,000 citizen complaints to examine the impact of environmental agency monitoring and enforcement efforts. Fascinatingly, and counter to his and the audience’s expectations, his research reveals that citizen complaints uncover more violations and more severe violations than standard environmental monitoring approaches. One of the takeaways from his research is that citizens alerting authorities through established channels enhances regulatory efficiency. We thank Dr. Shimshak for his eye-opening lecture, his engagement with our graduate students, and for joining us for pizza at Ted’s Most Best on a perfect spring evening in downtown Athens.
This past spring, AAE Extension faculty developed two particularly important reports for agriculture and rural communities in Georgia: the 2024 Georgia Ag Forecast report and the Georgia Agricultural Census Comparison: 2017 and 2022. The 2024 Georgia Ag Forecast report offers a comprehensive overview to help various sectors of the agriculture industry navigate the year ahead, covering everything from row crops, fruits and vegetables, livestock, and agritourism. The Georgia Agricultural Census Comparison, coordinated by our department’s Data Coordinator Jared Daniel, employs USDA census data to explore changes in Georgia agriculture over the past five years. The report includes fact sheets on crop production numbers, livestock inventories, sales, conservation practices, demographics, and agritourism. Many AAE faculty contributed to these reports, including Ben Campbell, Cesar Escalante, Esendugue Greg Fonsah, Guy Hancock, Angie Im, Yangxuan Liu, Gopi Munisamy, Dan Remar, John Salazar, Will Secor, Vanessa Shonkwiler, and Amanda Smith.
Looking ahead, this fall the department is launching two new undergraduate courses designed to deepen our students' education and better position them for their future careers. Dr. Will Secor developed a new course entitled Livestock, Dairy, and Poultry Supply Chain Economics (AAEC 3070). This class will study how livestock, dairy, and poultry products move through their supply chains, who moves them, and how management decisions are made about them. This course is designed for students across the university to learn how beef, pork, milk, and chicken get from the farm to the grocery store. Dr. Susana Ferreira and Dr. Lusi Xie will co-teach a new course entitled Climate Change Economics and Policy (ENVM/AAEC 3050). This course will explore climate change through an economics and policy lens. It will introduce students to climate change's economic causes and consequences and the policy solutions to mitigate its effects.
In bittersweet news, Dr. Sharon Kane, Senior Public Service Associate with the Center for Agricultural and Economic Development, will be leaving the department to start a new position as a tenure-track faculty member in the College of Family and Consumer Sciences. Additionally, Laura Alfonso, a dedicated staff member at the University of Georgia for 40 years, is retiring this summer. Laura gave Joe Broder a run for his money for years of service at UGA! We thank Dr. Kane and Laura for their contributions to the department and look forward to staying in touch as they enter new phases of their lives.
Finally, I am delighted to congratulate Dr. Ben Campbell and Dr. Michael Adjemian on their well-deserved promotions to the rank of Full Professor, effective August 1st. Their dedication and achievements in research, teaching, Extension, and service are commendable.
These are just a few of the many exciting developments happening in the Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics. As we continue to revamp our professional communication on LinkedIn and our social communication on Facebook, Instagram, and X (formerly Twitter), I hope you will follow along and join us on this journey. We have launched a new LinkedIn page to better connect with students, faculty, and alumni. Check it out and give us a follow to see the latest achievements by our students and faculty.
Best wishes to all, and GO DAWGS!
Greg Colson
Professor and Interim Department Head