Members in the News: Schmidt, Zhang, Dodson, Boehm, Gundersen, Lubben, and Countryman

Claudia Schmidt, Penn State University How Do Farmers Make Money on Corn? By Charging to Shoot It From a Cannon By: The Wall Street Journal - September 10, 2019 Food cannons alone can’t protect farms from depressed prices. But they are part of the growing field of agritainment—which also includes corn mazes, hayrides and goat yoga—that can serve as a hedge for farmers during tough times. Farm-linked recreation was a nearly $1 billion business in 2017, according to Claudia Schmidt, an assistant professor of agricultural economics at Penn State University. (Continued...) Read more on: The Wall Street Journal Wendong Zhang, Iowa State University China’s Leaders Are Penned In as Citizens Stomach High Pork Prices By: The Wall Street Journal - September 10, 2019 “There’s a significant reversal in the direction of policy,” said Zhang Wendong, an assistant economics professor at Iowa State University and co-founder of the school’s China Ag Center. “I think the Chinese government originally underestimated the potential magnitude of this outbreak.” (Continued...) Read more on: The Wall Street Journal Laura Dodson, USDA Economic Research Service Rebecca Boehm, Union of Concern Scientist Critics Of Relocating USDA Research Agencies Point To Brain Drain By: NPR - September 10, 2019 Both agencies are widely considered the best in the world at what they do, but they have also come in for some rough treatment under the Trump administration, according to Laura Dodson, an ERS economist who is also acting vice president of the union representing that agency's employees. "If you eat, you're involved in agriculture. And this is the government making itself dumber about agriculture," Dodson says. Rebecca Boehm, an economist with the food and environment program at the Union of Concerned Scientists, says both agencies are under assault. "This is really about an attack on science and an attack on agencies that produce objective research and information in the public interest," Boehm says. (Continued...) Read more on: NPR Craig Gundersen, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Anti-hunger advocates eye latest food insecurity data By: Marketplace - September 4, 2019 Craig Gundersen, an economics professor at the University of Illinois, said food insecurity is an important economic indicator. “I think it’s a better measure than the unemployment rate, it’s a better measure than the poverty rate, because it really displays those who are really, really struggling,” he said. (Continued...) Read more on: Marketplace Bradley Lubben, University of Nebraska-Lincoln UNL booth offers help for market-weary Nebraskans By: The Grand Island Independent - September 10, 2019 Brad Lubben, an agricultural economics professor at UNL, was at the risk management strategies booth at HHD Tuesday. Lubben said UNL’s mission is still as relevant today as it was 150 years ago in serving the people of Nebraska. “We are here to provide what information we can to help producers make better decisions,” he said. “Information that will help them maintain their success and viability.” (Continued...) Read more on: The Grand Island Independent Amanda Countryman, Colorado State University China looking to halt all ag purchases from U.S  By: Farm World Online - September 2019 Retaliation was expected when Trump made his announcement. Amanda Countryman, associate professor of agricultural and resource economics at Colorado State University College of Agricultural Sciences, said the Chinese have focused their retaliatory tariffs on items that would hurt the U.S. the most. Ag products were among the first targeted. (Continued...) Read more on: Farm World Online

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*Articles in response to the AAEA Communicating Out Strategy Press Releases highlighting: Government Relations, American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Applied Economic Perspectives & Policy, Choices Magazine, General Media, and/or 2019 AAEA Annual Meeting in Atlanta.