Call for Proposals: WERA-72 Annual Meeting

The Future of Agribusiness Research, Teaching and Extension

June 12-13, 2017 in Boise, Idaho

The WERA-72 Committee will host its annual meeting on June 12-13, 2017 in Boise, Idaho. The Executive Officers are seeking proposals for program activities for the 2017 WERA-72 meeting. Agribusiness researchers, teachers, and extension specialists are invited to submit proposals for the following program activities:

• Selected papers (completed research)
• Selected posters (completed research)
• Research reports as a paper or poster (on-going research)
• Reports on agribusiness extension activities (as a published report only available to participants)
• Reports on agribusiness teaching initiatives (as a published report only available to participants)
• Suggested topic areas for selected paper and research reports include but are not limited to:
• Coming Trends, Past Successes, and Lessons Learned in Agribusiness Teaching
• Current Issues in Agri-Food Supply Chains (food safety, food security, sustainability, or bioenergy)
• Risk management within Agri-Food Supply Chains
• Food and Beverage Marketing
• Agribusiness Entrepreneurship and Finance
• Food and Agribusiness Production Models
• Agribusiness Outreach and Extension 

The WERA-72 meetings have a long tradition of “idea-sharing,” the discussion of works-in-progress, mentoring and the professional development of agribusiness faculty, and the inclusion and full participation of graduate students in program activities. Please consider submitting a proposal and plan on joining us in June!

This year’s WERA-72 meeting will be highly engaging with the group actively exploring what agribusiness faculty will need to address in the coming five years and how. The program will start with a few presentations from invited guests regarding their perspective on the demands on agribusiness research, teaching and extension/outreach efforts. The rest of the first day will be spent with participants and presenters looking for ways to address the future needs of our stakeholders. The second day will be spent hearing from selected participants and developing ideas for collaborative funding proposals in response to the previous day’s discussion. Please plan to join us in beautiful Boise, Idaho, June 12-13, 2017.

The purpose of WERA-72 and its Annual Meeting is to bring together agribusiness educators, researchers, and Extension specialists to exchange ideas, establish linkages, and support collaborative efforts. We look forward to seeing you in Boise and encourage to you begin thinking about educational strategies, research findings, or Extension programs that you'd like to share with your colleagues in anticipation of the forthcoming call.

Meeting sessions, including presented papers and the annual business meeting, will be held at the Hampton Inn and Suites Boise-Downtown. The meeting will include gathering for casual dinners, receptions and other great opportunities to build better connections with agribusiness colleagues. Options for local field tours and/or recreational activities are being developed for Saturday and Sunday. Lodging arrangements will be available at the Hampton Inn and Suites Boise-Downtown at the nightly rate of $130 (1 king or 2 queen beds) for the nights inclusive of June 10-13 with checkout on Wednesday, June 14. To reserve your room, please visit Hampton Inn and Suites Boise-Downtown’s WERA 72 webpage.

General questions about the meetings can be sent directly to the current Chair, Aaron Johnson

aaronj@uidaho.edu. Specific questions about the proposal process and/or the program can be sent to Jason Bergtold at bergtold@ksu.edu.

Submitting Proposals

1.    For proposals for selected papers, reports and posters please submit an abstract (maximum of two pages, double-spaced) that summarizes the nature of the proposal. For research papers, preference will be given to abstracts that clearly and concisely address the following: Motivation, Objective, Methods, Likely Results, and Implications. If results are not yet available, the ability to complete the work by the June meeting date should be clearly indicated in the abstract if appropriate.

2.    Attach a cover sheet to the proposal that includes: title, names of participant(s) and/or author(s), and name, address, phone, and e-mail for the contact person. Regarding papers only, please do not identify the authors on the two-page abstract.

3.    Please e-mail proposals by Monday March 20, 2017 (in the form of an attachment), to Jason Bergtold at bergtold@ksu.edu. Please put “WERA 72 submission” in the subject line.

4.    Individuals submitting proposals will be notified about acceptance for paper presentation by the beginning of April, 2017.

5.    Authors of selected papers should prepare a full paper using guidelines for submission to The International Food and Agribusiness Management Review. The final version of the paper should be available for distribution at the June meeting. Papers will be placed on the WERA-72 homepage.