About

Vanessa Shonkwiler has been working 24 years in public institutions dedicated to agricultural research, instruction, and extension. At the University of Georgia’s Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics, her appointment is defined as 33% teaching and 67% service with a focus on small agribusiness marketing.

Prior to joining the University of Georgia, Vanessa Shonkwiler performed a variety of economic and market research, working for the French National Institute for Agricultural Research (2001-2014) and the ONIRIS National College of Food Science and Engineering (1999-2000), with areas of expertise including firms' strategies, regional economic development, impacts of European public and private standards on trade, and consumer behavior regarding production practices.

Research Interests

• Direct to consumer marketing: Eliciting Consumer Preferences and Willingness to Pay
• Identifying specialty crop and assessing potential economic benefits for Georgia farmers
• Assessing farms’ sustainability in a direct marketing context
• Evaluating the community impact of local food systems in Georgia

Main publications: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Vanessa-Shonkwiler/research

Extension & Outreach

• Marketing tips for small agribusiness: how to improve customers’ loyalty and retention
• Value-based pricing strategy
• Understanding buyers’ preferences on branding and labeling strategies selling local produce
• A local food system for your community: review of the basics
• Assessing the community impact of a local farmers’ market: lessons learned from a study on Cartersville farmers’ market
• Sustainability and farm marketing: building relationship with customers

Courses Taught

• AAEC 3100 Food and Fiber marketing (Fall since 2016 and Spring since 2019) 

Courses previously taught include:
• AAEC 6980 Advanced Agribusiness Management (Spring 2022)
• AESC 4950/8220 FABricate (2019 to 2021)
• AAEC 3040 Agribusiness Marketing (Fall 2015)

Education

• M.S., Economics (Minor: Agribusiness Marketing) - University of Nantes, France, 1999
  
• B.S., Economics (Minor: Sociology) - University of Nantes, France, 1997