The 2025 Extension Competition for Graduate Students

The AAEA Extension Competition for Graduate Students provides an opportunity to develop and/or get feedback on programs that communicate research and practical information to Extension (usually non-economist) audiences. Entries can be based upon graduate student research for a thesis, dissertation or other academic work. The competition is sponsored by the Extension and Graduate Student Sections.

Who’s Eligible?
Graduate students currently engaged in topics related to agricultural economics, agribusiness, natural resources, and/or community economic development, as well as those who graduated from such programs in Spring 2025 or later.

Participants must identify and work with a mentor with experience in outreach or extension activities.

The Application:
Applications should be addressed to Craig Carpenter at cwcarp@msu.edu and must include:

1. Student’s name, university, department, address and contact information.
2. Title of the extension program to be delivered.
3. A summary of the proposed extension program. This should include project outcomes, target audience, delivery plans, communication methods and activities planned for distributing the information to the public such as fact sheets, reports, web sites, spreadsheets, and presentations (4 page maximum). If the applicant was part of a team, the role of the applicant within the team must be made clear. If the proposed project is building upon the success of other extension programs, the summary should include a description of the previous program and the innovative approach of this proposed project.
4. An educational popular press article limited to 500 words and no more than two graphics (tables, charts, etc.). This should be an addendum to your submission packet. Examples include: https://farmdocdaily.illinois.edu/2023/01/us-price-inflation-focus-on-farm- prices.html and https://southernagtoday.org
5. A detailed evaluation plan. This should be an addendum to your submission packet. You may choose to develop your project using a logic model (which is not required). You can see more information on logic models below.*
6. A profile of the applicant’s background and research (1 page maximum).
7. The mentor’s name and description of the mentor’s role in the project.

Finalists at AAEA
Finalists will be selected to make a 15-minute presentation at the AAEA meeting in Denver, CO on Sunday July 27, 2025, to a panel of judges, who will then ask 5 minutes of questions. The competition will begin at 8AM MDT. Selection of the finalists will be based on the material submitted and the criteria listed above. Finalists will be notified by June 6, 2025. The top three finalists are expected to make presentations during an AAEA Extension track organized symposium if present in Denver, CO. Date and time during conference to be determined.

Awards
Cash awards will be given to those judged to be the top three graduate students in this competition. Award funding is provided by the AAEA Extension Section through membership dues and via support provided by sponsors. Awards are:

•  First Place: $1,000 and a plaque
•  Second Place: $300 and a certificate
•  Third Place: $200 and a certificate
•  Other finalists receive finalist certificates.

The top 3 competitors selected will be recognized at the AAEA Awards ceremony. All finalists will be provided tickets to the Extension Luncheon during the AAEA annual meetings.

Submission Deadline: Midnight EDT on Friday, May 9, 2025. Email entries to Craig Carpenter, Competition Committee Chair at cwcarp@msu.edu. Finalists will be notified by June 6, 2025.