USDA ERS to Appear on C-SPAN

In 2011, a record high 15% of U.S. households lacked consistent access to adequate food. 

Access to Food in America will be the topic of "America by the Numbers," a C-SPAN series, that will air at 9:15am ET, Friday morning, December 28. Watch the show to see Alisha Coleman-Jensen, Social Science Analyst at the USDA Economic Research Service (ERS) discuss the latest food security data by poverty status, unemployment and household composition.

Most Fridays, C-SPAN’s “America by the Numbers” segment on its “Washington Journal” show features information from the federal statistical system. The program highlights trends and allows the public to call in or email their views.

To view the segment live online visit: http://www.c-span.org/Series/Washington-Journal/

Click here to see the official announcement from the Census Bureau with links to slides about food safety.

AAEA Business Office Closed

We hope everyone has been enjoying the holiday season! Our office is closed next week Monday, December 24 and Tuesday, December 25. The AAEA Business Office will be open again on Wednesday, December 26.

Nominate a Colleague for an AAEA Award

The AAEA Awards Program recognizes excellence in the work of agricultural and applied economics. The Awards Committee, chaired by George Norton of Virginia Tech University, welcomes nominations for all award categories. Specific details on the criteria used to judge each award, as well as instructions on how to submit nominations for the award are available below.

The selection process for each award is administered by a subcommittee. The chairperson of each subcommittee receives all nominations and administers the review process. The chairperson will eliminate any conflicts of interest with members of the subcommittee during the evaluation process.

The deadline for nominations is February 1, 2013. All nomination materials shall be submitted via e-mail as a PDF file to the chairperson of the award’s subcommittee.

Restrictions

Except for the Publication of Enduring Quality Award, only one AAEA award can be received for essentially the same work. It is the nominator's responsibility to assure that no AAEA award (other than Master's thesis or PhD dissertation award) has already been received for the nominated work. Should a nomination be selected for more than one award in the same year (e.g. Journal Article and Research Discovery), the awardee(s) will be permitted to choose which award is received.

No member of the executive board—elected, appointed, or ex-officio—is eligible to participate as a principal recipient in competition for awards. The exclusion does not preclude participation if (s)he is a junior participant with respect to other(s) for whom exclusion from participation clearly would be a handicap.

Awards Criteria

Please consult the pages below to find specific information pertaining to each award.

• Distinguished Extension/Outreach Program Awards
• Distinguished Teaching Awards
• Outstanding Master’s Thesis Award
• Outstanding Doctoral Dissertation Award
• Quality of Research Discovery Award
• Quality of Communication Award
• Publication of Enduring Quality Award
• Bruce Gardner Memorial Prize for Applied Policy Analysis

Member Profile: Johan Swinnen

Johan Swinnen
Professor
University of Leuven

AAEA Activities:

• AAEA Fellow, 2012
• AJAE Editorial Board
• International Section Chair

New AAEA Section: Land, Water and Environmental Economics (ENV)

AAEA has approved a new Section entitled, Land, Water and Environmental Economics, which will be designated by the acronym, ENV.

For more information about the Section, please check out the ENV Section website.

The initial leadership of the ENV Section is as follows:
Chair: Kevin Boyle, Virginia Tech, kjboyle@vt.edu
Chair-elect: Benjamin Gramig, Purdue University, bgramig@purdue.edu
Secretary/Treasurer: Robert Johnston, Clark University, rjohnston@clarku.edu
AAEA Board Liaison: Scott Swinton, Michigan State University, swintons@anr.msu.edu

Please feel free to contact any of the Section leadership if you have any questions, comments or suggestions.

ENV Business Meeting
The Section's first business meeting will be at the 2013 AAEA & CAES Joint Annual Meeting in Washington, DC, August 4-6. Please plan to attend and help chart the future of this Section.

Track Sessions
The ENV Section will sponsor two sessions at the 2013 AAEA & CAES Joint Annual Meeting in Washington, DC:

•  “The Economics of Executive Order 13508: The Chesapeake Bay and Implications for Large-Scale Watershed Management” (Rob Johnston, Organizer, rjohnston@clarku.edu)

•  “Bioenergy Policy Amid Missing Markets, Changing Technology and Environmental Trade-offs” (Ben Gramig, Organizer, bgramig@purdue.edu)

If you would like to present a paper in either of these sessions, or have someone who you would like to recommend for a presentation, please contact Rob or Ben.

How to Join ENV
You can join the Land, Water and Environmental Economics when you renew your AAEA membership for 2013 or if you've already joined for 2013, you can add a Section membership through the online form in the My Account page or by contacting the AAEA Business Office.

AARES-AAEA Young Professionals Exchange Award - 2013 Heading North Award

Applications are now invited for the 2013 Heading North award.

The Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society (AARES) and the Agricultural and Applied Economics Association (AAEA) through the AAEA Trust will jointly offer this travel award to members of AARES or AAEA normally resident in Australia or New Zealand.  Applicants for the award must be an Early Career Professional member of AAEA to be eligible to participate in their conference.

The objective of the award is to provide the winner with an opportunity for professional and personal development and international professional and cultural exchange.  The award will have a value of US$2,750 to be used to assist the winner to participate in the 2013 AAEA & CAES Joint Annual Meeting to be held in Washington DC, USA from 4-6 August 2013.  Applicants for the award must be a member of either AARES or AAEA.

Selection Process

The 2013 Heading North selection committee will be chaired by the President-Elect of AARES (Alan Randall).

Applications should include:

• a paper for presentation at the 2013 AAEA & CAES Joint Annual Meeting in Washington, for which the applicant is the sole or first author and which represents their original and unpublished work,
• a one-page biographical statement, and
• a one-page statement in support of their application, indicating what they would hope to accomplish through the award, why they would be deserving of the award, and confirming that they would be unable to attend the conference without this financial support.

Submission Deadlines and Details
Friday, 1 March 2013 (for travel in August 2013)

Electronic submissions (in PDF form) for this award must be emailed to Annie Hurst at aares@anu.edu.au by the due date.