Members in the News: Jerrod Penn & Robert Johansson

Jerrod Penn, University of Kentucky Can You Pick a Bedbug Out of a Lineup? By: The New York Times - June 16, 2017 Maybe we should be more like past generations, because bedbugs — those bloodsucking, tick-size critters of the night that haunt your dreams whether you’ve ever had them or not — have experienced a resurgence over the last 15 years. These expert hiders can lay hundreds of eggs each, hitchhike around on clothing, bags or furniture and live up to a year without food; it’s also very costly and difficult to get rid of them. “What we’re really trying to figure out is what the economic value is of reports of bedbugs,” said Jerrod Penn, an economist at the University of Kentucky who contributed to the survey. (Continued...) Read the entire article on The New York Times Robert Johansson, USDA-Office of the Chief Economist Perdue Names Leadership in Acting Roles as USDA Reorganization Takes Shape By: Agriculture.com and Agri-Pulse - June 11, 2017 Dr. Robert Johansson will serve as the Acting Deputy Under Secretary for Farm Production and Conservation, while also concurrently remaining USDA’s Chief Economist, a position he has held since July 2015.  Since 2001, he has worked as an economist at USDA, in the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs at the Office of Management and Budget, and at the Congressional Budget Office.  In 2011 he was appointed senior economist for energy, environment, and agriculture on the President’s Council of Economic Advisers where he also participated in the White House Rural Council and the President’s Council on Jobs and Competitiveness. Dr. Johansson served as Deputy Chief Economist at the USDA from 2012 to 2014.  He received B.A. in economics from Northwestern University and then served with the U.S. Peace Corps as an extension agent in several African countries from 1990 to 1995.  After returning to his home State of Minnesota, he entered the graduate program in Agricultural Economics at the University of Minnesota and received his M.S. in 1997 and Ph.D. in 2000. His research has spanned a wide range of issues, including biofuels policy, water quality and quantity policies, regulatory economics, food security, and regional modeling of agricultural systems. (Continued...) Read the entire article on Agriculture.com and Agri-Pulse

See other Member in the News items Know another AAEA Member who has made statewide, national, or international news? Send a link of the article to info@aaea.org or ascheetz@aaea.org  What research and topics are you working on? Want to be an expert source for journalists working on a story? We want to hear from you. Contact Jay Saunders via email, jsaunders@aaea.org.