100 Years of Food and Resource Economics

1926 - A Department is Born

Though agricultural economists have been a part of the university since 1916, it was not until a decade later that an official Agricultural Economics Department was formed after the department was split from Agronomy. Separate teaching and research departments were established and the department quickly grew in both size and impact.

Extending Our Reach

In 1930, the Agricultural Economics Extension program was formed. In 1933, the Agricultural Economics Teaching, Research and Extension Departments merged into one unit, an early example of the unified land-grant model that IFAS has become.

The Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946

Recognizing the vital role agricultural marketing plays in supporting our global food systems, President Harry S. Truman signed into law the Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946, providing funding specifically for agricultural economics and marketing research. This new funding spurred a burst of new productivity, and the number of Department research projects would double in the following years.

1951 - The Doctor is In.

Prior to 1951, the department only offered undergraduate degrees and a Master's in Agriculture. In 1951, a doctoral Program in Agricultural Economics is established. It would see its first graduates in 1954.

1954 - There's No Place Like Home

In September of 1954, a groundbreaking ceremony was held for the dedication of a new main agricultural building on campus - McCarty Hall. Named after Daniel T. McCarty, 31st governor of Florida, the building would eventually become the home of our Food and Resource Economics Department.

1961 - Florida's State Fruit

In 1961, the Florida Citrus Commission relocated its economic research group to the UF Agricultural Economics Department in Gainesville, with its Ph.D. staff holding courtesy faculty status in the Department. This close relationship remains to this day and allows for a pooling of resources and minds to help one of the state's most iconic agricultural industries combat a variety of external threats such as citrus greening.

1970s - 1980s: Going Beyond

New faculty hires are made to increase research and extension collaboration and expand FRE Research into new areas. Most notably, the department's Natural Resources and Environmental Economics workgroup was formed, leading the research and extension efforts in this area thanks to the addition of Drs. Clyde Kiker, Gary Lynne and Roy Carriker.

1970 - Entering the Digital Era

The advent of personal computers revolutionized the field of agricultural and applied economics.

1972 - What's in a Name?

Shortly before its bicentennial anniversary, the Agricultural Economics Department changed its name to Food and Resource Economics to reflect the widening scope of departmental programs into consumer behavior, natural resource management, and other areas of expertise.

1975: Florida Agricultural Marketing Research Center

The Florida Agricultural Marketing Research Center was established in 1975 to offer professional assistance to agricultural, marine and agribusiness groups. FAMRC offers many services designed to help large and small organizations improve the marketability and demand for products of interest to Florida's many diverse agricultural industries

1981: The Center for Agricultural and Natural Resource Law

The Agricultural Law Center was established by the Florida Board of Regents as a Type III non-funded center on December 4, 1981. The Center’s name was officially changed in 2008 to the Center for Agricultural and Natural Resource Law to better reflect the symbiotic relationship between Florida agriculture and Florida’s natural resources.

1982 - The Ben Hill Griffin, Jr. Eminent Scholar Chair in Agricultural Economics

The name Ben Hill Griffin has resonated through the University of Florida for generations, and it all started here in our department, where he studied economics, marketing, and agriculture for three years! His only son, Ben Hill Griffin III, established the The Ben Hill Griffin, Jr. Eminent Scholar Chair in Agricultural Economics Marketing as an endowed position at the University of Florida in his hono

1997: The Master of Agribusiness Program is Established

The Master of Agribusiness Program was the last of our four current teaching programs (Undergraduate, M.A.B., M.S., and Ph.D.) to be established, but certainly not the least. This program would address the unmet need of agriculturalists seeking out a program suited to their needs as owner-operators of their own businesses in a highly unique and specialized industry.

2001: UF/IFAS Economic Impact Analysis Program

Building upon the regional economics work that begun in the late 1980s, the Economic Impact Analysis Program was established under Dr. David Mulkey. Today, this vital UF/IFAS extension program provides expertise in the areas of regional economic modeling, economic impact analysis, and economic contribution analysis. Notably, their disaster impact analysis work which begun after Hurricane Irma in 2017 has not only become a vital and heavily relied upon source of reliable information for decision-making in the disaster recovery process, but also an example looked upon and emulated by other states in their own disaster impact work.

2008 - Titlesville, Florida, USA

The early 2000s were a great time for Gator Sports, but the men's basketball team weren't the only ones to secure a back to back championship run. From 2002 - 2006, the Academic Quiz Bowl Team reigned supreme with 4-Straight National Wins in the AAEA competition. In 2008 and 2009, our Gator NAMA Team placed also first in two consecutive student marketing competitons hosted by the National Agri-Marketing Association.

2019- 2022: Expansion

A large hiring wave of nine new faculty members enables Food and Resource Economics research to expand in vital areas such as water and natural resources, international development and health economics.

2020: A Virtual World

In the Spring of 2020, a global pandemic necessitated the move to online schooling in order to preserve public health. A silver lining to this was found in the form of our Master of Agribusiness program. Since the move online, the program has flourished, with enrollment in our Centennial cohort almost five times greater than pre-pandemic numbers.