Deadline Reminder: 2015 National Value-Added Agriculture Conference

Just a friendly reminder that deadline for registration and guarantee convention hotel rate for the 17th Annual National Value Added Agriculture Conference is April 27, 2015.

The conference tentative agenda is now available on the conference website: http://www.agmrc.org/national-value-added-agriculture-conference/ or please find attached.

Speakers and presenters at the conference this year include: Mr. Sid Miller, the Texas Agriculture Commissioner; Mr. Carlos Rubinstein, the Chairman of Texas Water Management Board; Dr. Peter Feather, USDA’s Agricultural Labor Affairs Coordinator, Ms. Judith Canales, the State Executive Director USDA Farm Service Agency; Mr. Daniel Torres, Business Programs Director of USDA’s Rural Development; Mr. Neilson C. Conklin, President of Farm Foundation; Dr. Mary Ellen Camire, PhD, CFS, President of Institute of Food Technologists and more than 40 other farmers, producers, policy makers, researchers, economists, food industry enthusiasts, etc.

The conference will take place on May 18-20, 2015 in Austin, Texas.

Deadline for registration is 5:00 pm April 27, 2015.

Registration fee for regular attendee is $200 which will cover meetings, 2 breakfasts, 2 lunches, 2 coffee breaks, a reception, and a banquet.

Special thanks to Farm Credit, the Center for North American Studies, American Farm Bureau Federation, National Food MarketMaker, Southern Rural Development Center, Southern Extension Risk Management Education, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service, and Agricultural Marketing Resource Center for sponsoring this conference.

2015 NVA Conference Committee
http://www.agmrc.org/national-value-added-agriculture-conference/

2015 Annual Meeting of the SCC-76 "Economics and Management of Risks in Agriculture and Natural Resources"

The 2015 Annual Meeting of the SCC-76 "Economics and Management of Risks in Agriculture and Natural Resources" Group will tentatively be held from Thurs-Sat, March 26-28, 2015 at the Hilton in Pensacola Beach, Florida.

The objective of the conference is to provide a forum to facilitate the exchange of applied approaches to risk analysis, economics, and policy--both empirical and theoretical--as well as to nurture the development and application of dynamic and original research efforts related to agriculture and natural resources.  Applied work in domains of government, industry, and academia is most welcome.

Authors are welcome to submit finished papers as well as those in the early stages of development.  All papers relevant to risk in agricultural and applied economics as well as their constituent fields will be considered.

Note: In order to enhance the quality of the discussions, when submitting a paper, please indicate whether you would like a discussant or not.  Any author who requests a discussant implicitly agrees to discuss another author's paper.

Paper abstracts should be submitted as .pdf documents by January 10, 2015 by e-mail to the Conference Chair, Tom Sproul at sproul@mail.uri.edu.  Abstracts should normally not exceed two double-spaced pages and should outline the research question, methodology, and results of the research. Authors will be informed whether their papers are accepted by January 25, 2015.  If a discussant is requested, a draft paper will be due by March 1, 2015.  

The website for the conference is being updated and can be found here: http://www.agriskgroup.org/

An announcement regarding accommodations and reservations will be sent out soon. Feel free to circulate this call to any potentially interested parties.

Postdoctoral Fellowships on Innovative Methods and Metrics for Agriculture and Nutrition Actions (IMMANA Fellowships)

Call for Applications:

(led by the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University)

Download the Call

The objective is to accelerate the development of innovative and interdisciplinary methods, metrics and tools to advance scientific understanding of the linkages between agriculture and food systems, health, and nutrition outcomes, and thereby inform policy and programmatic actions in low and middle income countries (LMICs).
Funding available: Six one-year postdoctoral research fellowships, in four rounds (2015-2018), with stipends for fellows and two mentors.
Who can apply: Researchers who have completed a doctoral degree in any field related to agriculture, nutrition or health research and practice, and are seeking a career in research, education, and engagement at the intersection of two or more of these fields. Eligible candidates must have received their doctorate within 3 years of their proposed fellowship start date. Applicants may be of any nationality and have earned their doctorate anywhere, but IMMANA strongly encourages applications from female candidates, who are citizens of low- and middle-income countries, particularly those who have research or faculty appointments in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. At least one of the fellowship project’s two mentors must be located in Africa or Asia. Fellowship duration is 12 months and is not renewable.

Deadlines for 2015-16 Fellowships:
Submission of concept memos	Due January 10, 2015
Submission of full proposals	Due March 1, 2015
Notification of applicants	Due May 1, 2015
Start dates for fellowships	June 1, 2015-December 31, 2015

The IMMANA collaboration is coordinated by the Leverhulme Centre for Integrative Research on Agriculture and Health (LCIRAH) and includes leading experts from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine; SOAS, University of London; and the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University in Boston (USA).