GSS & C-FARE 2024 Policy Communications Competition

In today’s market, graduate students may seek careers where they are tasked with evaluating policy issues and effectively communicating their results to policymakers and other stakeholders. Therefore, the Graduate Student Section (GSS) and Council on Food, Agricultural & Resource Economics (C-FARE) partner for the 4th Annual Policy Communications Competition. This competition provides graduate students with an opportunity to gain experience in both written and verbal policy communication.


Entries can be based on the graduate student's ongoing research. They should address a pressing, relevant policy issue relating to the 2024 Policy Communications Competition theme at the local, state, or federal levels.


2024 Competition Theme
The farm bill is a package of legislation updated by Congress every five years. As the 2018 Farm Bill expires in 2023, Congress has begun negotiating the next Bill. We identify five main topics from the USDA 2023 Budget Summary that tie into critical issues policymakers must consider when drafting the farm bill. These include:
1. Farm Production and Conservation
2. Trade and Foreign Agricultural Affairs
3. Climate Change and Farmers
4. Rural Development
5. Food and Nutrition Security

Policy briefs for the 2024 Policy Communications Competition should relate to one or more of these five themes.


Objectives for Participants
· Evaluate a relevant agricultural, food, or resource policy issue relating to the 2024 Policy Competition theme at the local, state, or federal level.
· Provide written and verbal communication that addresses a policy-relevant research question clearly, and concisely.


Participant Eligibility
Graduate students must be a member of the GSS with a graduation date of Fall 2024 or later. They should be conducting research in agricultural economics, resource economics, regional development, or a related field.


Competition Information
The competition will consist of two rounds. Participants must submit a typed policy brief in the first round, not to exceed two pages (double spaced, 12-point font, including references, figures, and graphics). This document should summarize the background and current status of the issue, key facts (i.e., benefits and costs of government programs or project alternatives), findings, and conclusions. The participant's job is not to convince the policymaker to take a particular position or vote a certain way but rather to evaluate, gather, and present the necessary information to make an informed decision on the issue.


The second round of the competition will consist of an oral presentation by select finalists. Within the presentation, which is not to exceed 10 minutes in length, the student should detail the specifics of the policy issue and identify additional key facts and findings surrounding the topic. An effective presentation will complement the written policy brief and should be easily accessible for policymakers.


Preliminary Timeline
Friday, June 21, 2024: Registration and policy brief due
Friday, July 12, 2024: Finalists announced
Sunday, July 28, 2024: Finalists present at the AAEA Annual Meeting in Washington, DC

Registration Information & Deadline
Applications should be submitted via the Qualtrics link below. Questions may be addressed to Roberto Koeneke (rkoeneke@ufl.edu) and must include:
· A cover page containing:
· Participant's name and contact information
· Mentor’s name and contact information
· The student's policy brief (2-page maximum).
· Applications must be submitted electronically no later than midnight CT on June 24, 2024.

Link to Submit: https://ufl.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_agV7zVWQU3gZbTM

Finalists at AAEA
Selected finalists will make a 10-minute presentation at the AAEA Annual Meeting in New Orleans on Sunday, July 21, 2024. The judges will evaluate presentations using a grading rubric shared with selected finalists. The selection of the finalists will be based on the material submitted and the criteria listed below. Finalists will be notified by July 12, 2024.


Criteria for Selecting Finalists
1. The participant clearly defines the problem and discusses the feasibility of the policy ideas. The participant provides background and supporting research on the topic, including areas of government failures or unintended consequences, and addresses the proper target audience.

2. The participant integrates knowledge and research from various sources and provides a clear, concise summary of the issue.

3. The participant uses formal but non-technical language that is easily accessible to policymakers, and their brief is free of grammatical mistakes.

4. The policy brief uses appropriate formatting (proper headings, length no more than two pages, proper citation, ordered appearance, etc.).


Awards
The top three competitors will be recognized at the AAEA Awards Ceremony and will be invited to present their work at a future C-FARE webinar (more details to come). In addition, the winner of Policy Communication will receive a plaque and a cash prize. The second and third-place competitors will receive certificates and cash awards. Cash prizes are as follows:

First place: $300
Second place: $200
Third place: $100


Additional Resources

2025 USDA Budget Summary

House Agriculture Committee Website

House Agriculture Farm Bill

C-FARE’s Annual Brandt Forum

Impacts of a Digitally Driven Global Economy: Opportunities and Challenges for U.S. Agriculture

April 2nd and April 5th, 2021
(10:00 am to 1:30 pm EST)

Monitoring and commerce-driving technologies in supply chains, agricultural production, and international markets are radically changing the agricultural and food marketplace. These technologies challenge the global competitiveness of the United States and other large countries. With thoughtful consideration of ramifications on market prices and related policy, information, and standards, this conference focuses on the social and policy implications of digitalization technologies such as blockchain in the agricultural and food sectors and discusses their impact on e-commerce, food, and agriculture.

The agricultural and food systems depend upon value-chains that include production and processing, associated services, and a domestic and global trading system encompassing all activities from agricultural inputs to delivering food products to consumers. The emergence of digitalization into these business interactions and trading activities disrupt the configuration of the food-supply chain and impact relationships among participants at various stages. These innovations fundamentally change how agribusinesses operate by providing access to all information about particular commodities and foods. There are clear implications for food traceability, implementation and verification of product standards, governmental regulatory compliance, data management, and international disputes.

This year's Council on Food, Agricultural, and Resource Economics (C-FARE) Brandt Forum brings together scholars and business leaders to discuss the disruptions of digitalization. Because of the pandemic, the event "Impacts of a digitally-driven global economy: opportunities and challenges for U.S. agriculture" will be a two-day virtual event, April 2nd, and April 5th, 10 am to 1:30 pm EST.

To register for the event, please click on the box below. This will take you to the event website which will ask for your email and name.

More Information on the speakers and their panels will be available soon!

Register here: https://www.cfare.live/

Webinar: The Implications of The Proposed Changes To SNAP

When: Friday, February 26th, 11 am EST

Register: https://register.gotowebinar.com/register/5116508503674637069

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is a crucial element of the health and welfare safety net in the United States. The purpose of SNAP is to provide low-income eligible households enough money to reach the cost of a nutritious diet.

The current SNAP is undergoing changes that include a 20.3% increase in total monthly SNAP benefits and President Biden's interest in reassessing the Thrifty Food Plan's (TFP) method of determining SNAP benefits. Thus, C-FARE felt it is time to follow up on a topic we discussed in August 2020.

Therefore, C-FARE decided to host a follow-up event to our August webinar and invite a panel of scholars to present on SNAP and TFP on Friday, February 26th at 11 am EST.

Our panel of speakers consists of three experts who have studied SNAP and other food policy effects and will be moderated by Sean Cash, C-FARE's Board member, and the Bergstrom Foundation Professor at the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University.

• Shewana McSwain serves The Cooperative Extension Program at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University as the Expanded Food and Nutrition (EFNEP) Outreach coordinator.
• Parke Wilde is a Professor at the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University. 
• George Davis is a Professor at Virginia Tech in the Departments of Ag. & Applied Economics and Human Nutrition, Foods, and Exercise.

 

Webinar: The Impact of Applied Research in Agriculture and Applied Economics on The U.S. Economy

Today's farmers produce 262 percent more food with two percent fewer inputs as compared to 1950. A significant component of this increase in agricultural productivity is due to large investments in public agricultural research. The importance of research in agricultural and applied economics has only heightened as the population increases.

In our ongoing effort to support the continuing efforts to highlight the importance of the applied research and economics, the Council on Food, Agricultural, and Resource Economics (C-FARE) will host a panel of scholars presenting on the topic of The Impact of Applied Research in Agriculture and Applied Economics on The U.S. Economy from 12 p.m. to 1:00 p.m. EDT January 22.

Our panel of speakers consists of four leaders in Agricultural and Resource Economics and will be moderated by Gal Hochman, C-FARE's Board Chair, and Professor at Rutgers University.

• Keith Coble is a Giles Distinguished Professor, the Head of the Agricultural Economics Department, and Special Assistant to the Vice President of Agriculture, Forestry, and Veterinary Medicine at Mississippi State University.
• Madhu Khanna is the Director of Graduate Admissions and Recruiting at the Department of Agricultural and Consumer Economics at the University of Illinois.
• Robbin Shoemaker is the National Program Leader for Economics in the Institute of Food Production and Sustainability at the National Institute of Food and Agriculture.
• David Zilberman is a Professor, Extension specialist, and holder of the Robinson Chair in the Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics, University of California at Berkeley. 

The panel will be followed by a Q&A session.

As always, the council welcomes input on this or any programming, information@cfare.org. All C-FARE programming is free and accessible to all. If you cannot attend our live event, please check back here after the event has occurred for a recording and summary of the event.

This program is supported in part by the Agricultural and Applied Economics Association and the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Economic Research Service and National Agricultural Statistics Service.

Register now: https://register.gotowebinar.com/register/7825164193692913420

The program will run for about 50 minutes. Attendees will be invited to put questions to the panel. Inquiries can be made to Maxwell Reitkopf, Communications Strategist (information@cfare.org). The event will be held at 12 p.m. EDT Friday, January, 22nd.

Webinar: Economic Perspectives on Wildfire: Preparation, Property, and Health

These wildfires impose both high financial and social costs that include lost forest resources, property and infrastructure losses, disaster relief, lost business activity in affected communities, and increased medical costs.

With an eye toward better understanding the economic aspects of wildfires, C-FARE will host a webinar entitled “Economic Perspectives on Wildfire: Preparation, Property, and Health” on November 16, 2020. This session, co-organized with the Association of Environmental and Resource Economists (AERE), will feature a panel of three economists whose expertise centers on wildfires. Our speakers include Drs. Matthew Wibbenmeyer (Resources for the Future), Patty Champ (United States Forest Service), and Eric Zou (University of Oregon). They will be talking about topics that include the breadth of wildfire costs; how communities can better prepare to face wildfire risks; and the contributions of wildfire to increased mortality through smoke exposure, sometimes over surprisingly large distances. I will host the webinar, and Dr. Karen Palmer, AERE President-Elect, will moderate the panel and field audience questions.

There has been no shortage of discussion of how public land management should change in the face of this increased fire risk, and there is renewed interest in issues such as mandatory wildfire risk disclosures for home sales and the role of electrical utilities in managing risk. Some things that I am particularly interested in hearing our panelists’ thoughts on is how key markets such as real estate, insurance, and forest-based resources are likely to evolve in the coming years, as well as their thoughts on what households and businesses in affected areas should be doing now to adapt to increasingly fire-friendly conditions. Please join us at 12 pm EST on Monday, November 16 if you are also interested in hearing more.

— Sean Cash, Tufts University

 

The threat of wildfires has become an increasingly large challenge faced by many Americans and as of October 1, over 44,000 wildfires have burned nearly 7.7 million acres in the United States this year.

This growing threat is in part due to increasing temperatures and changing weather conditions that are making the fires far more difficult to control and easier to spread…

REGISTER HERE: Economic Perspectives on Wildfire: Preparation, Property, and Health on November 16th, at 12 pm.