Dr. Tara Wade
Assistant Professor
Tara Wade is an agricultural resource economist in the Food and Resource Economics Department and the Southwest Florida Research and Education Center. She specializes in determining the economic factors that affect choices to adopt agricultural practices that have positive ecological outcomes. Tara's research interests are in conservation policy design, conservation practice adoption, and costs of ecosystem services. Dr. Wade's extension and research programs focus on helping farmers to reach their economic and environmental goals in efficient ways.
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Research
Conservation practice adoption in specialty crop production:
Dr. Tara Wade conducts an applied research program that explores the tradeoffs associated with conservation practice adoption in specialty crop production. Her program provides economic insights into issues related to the adoption of various conservation practices by crop producers and the impacts that such practices, policies, and regulations have on farm sustainability. The guiding principle of her research is that economic and environmental sustainability on cropland are not mutually exclusive.
Regulations that affect farm profitability:
Dr. Tara Wade conducts an applied research program that investigates the economic effects of compliance with regulations on farm enterprises.
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Extension
Economics of environmental sustainability for crop production:
Dr. Wade's Extension program provides economic insights into the practices and technologies that specialty crop producers may use that provide economic and environmental benefits.
Economic sustainability for crop production:
Dr. Wade's Extension program provides insights into how state and federal regulations can affect fresh produce supply chains and enterprises.
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Education
- Ph. D. North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, 2011
- M.S. North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, 2005
- B.S. Livingstone College, 2003
- Publications