Administrator
Economic Research Service, U.S. Dept. of Agriculture
AAEA Activities:
Mary Bohman is Administrator of the Economic Research Service (ERS), the primary source of economic information and research in the U.S. Department of Agriculture. ERS, one of 14 principal Federal statistical agencies, provides research and statistics used by policy makers and others, and covers the farm sector, the food system, farm-related natural resources, and the rural economy.
As Administrator, a key priority for Bohman is to maintain the agency’s relevance and its reputation for objective, science-based analysis. This means anticipating emerging issues when developing the agency’s work program—issues like global food prices, food security, renewable energy, adaptation to climate change, and farm policy (particularly relevant as Congress debates a new farm bill). It also means that the work products continue to earn the confidence of policy makers and others who rely on ERS’s objectivity.
Before taking the helm at ERS, she served in several management positions at the agency. Most recently, she directed the agency’s Resource and Rural Economics Division, which focuses on environmental and science policy, agricultural practices and productivity, and farm-sector performance and structure. Prior to joining ERS, Bohman was on the agricultural sciences faculty at the University of British Columbia. Her research at ERS and in her academic career has focused on the linkages between agricultural, environmental, and trade policy.
She holds a PhD from the Department of Agricultural Economics, University of California, Davis and a BS from the School of Foreign Service, Georgetown University.
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Great to see how Mary has been contributing to guiding ERS's research to emerging issues.
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