Friday October 25, 2024 – Dr. Marc Bellemare, University of Minnesota

Title: Commodity Prices and Mortality

Abstract:

"The US Midwest, home to over 20 percent of Americans, depends heavily on agriculture. We look at the relationship between commodity prices—corn and soybean prices, the dominant commodities in the Midwest—and mortality in a sample of 485 Midwestern counties for the period 1980 to 2016. As outcome variables, we look at crude or age-adjusted all-cause death rates. Commodity prices are only available at the state or global level, so we interact (i) state-level or global commodity prices with (ii) how much of each commodity is grown within each county. Our treatment variable thus captures how, for each commodity, revenues from that commodity within a given county change in response to changes in commodity prices. For identification, we combine the exposure design just described with a two-way, county and year fixed effects design as well as with several robust panel data estimators. On average, a decrease in commodity prices is associated with increased mortality across all counties: A 10-percent decrease in either corn or soybean revenues is associated with an increase in the crude death rate of about 0.2 percent, or 0.205 additional deaths per 1,000 persons in a county, a result driven by rural counties and seemingly mediated by cardiovascular disease and suicides. For robustness, we estimate specifications in which we instrument revenues from each commodity with measures of drought severity, and we conduct falsification tests."

Bio: Marc F. Bellemare is Distinguished McKnight University Professor, Distinguished University Teaching Professor, and Northrop Professor in the Department of Applied Economics at the University of Minnesota, where he also directs the Center for International Food and Agricultural Policy. Marc currently serves as one of four co-editors of the American Journal of Agricultural Economics. Prior to that, he served as one of two co-editors of Food Policy from 2015 to 2019. For his research, he has won the Agricultural and Applied Economics Association’s (AAEA) Outstanding Doctoral Dissertation Award in 2007, the AAEA’s Outstanding American Journal of Agricultural Economics Article award in 2011, and the AAEA’s Quality of Research Discovery awards in 2014. That same year, he also won the European Association of Agricultural Economists‘ Quality of Research Discovery Award. His research has been featured in media outlets such as The Economist, the New York Times, National Public Radio, and the Wall Street Journal. In early 2023, he was elected Fellow of the AAEA.

Friday, November 1st, 2024 – Dr. Lonnie Hobbs, Kansas State University

Dr. Lonnie Hobbs, Jr., is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Agricultural Economics at Kansas State University. Originally from Clarksville, TX, Lonnie has a diverse teaching, research, and community involvement background. He serves as the primary instructor for the Commodity Futures course (AGEC 420) and Food and Agribusiness Marketing course (AGEC 515). Lonnie also has extensive experience as a co-instructor for the Human Culture and Diversity course (GENAG 210). In his research, Lonnie specializes in agribusiness, marketing, pet food economics, teaching and learning, and diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging (DEIB). His research specifically focuses on analyzing current marketing strategies, customer behavior, and product demand to inform product differentiation and marketing decisions in the food and agriculture industry, and particularly the pet food sector. Beyond his teaching and research responsibilities, Lonnie is a co-advisor for Kansas State's Minorities in Agriculture Natural Resources and Related Sciences (MANRRS) local chapter. He actively supports and mentor students, fostering a diverse and inclusive community within the field. Lonnie's educational background includes a Bachelor of Science Degree in Agribusiness from Prairie View A&M University (PVAMU), as well as a Master of Science and Ph.D. in Agricultural Economics from Kansas State University.

Pet Obesity Causes and Product Differentiation Opportunities in the Pet Food Industry
Abstract
Growth in pet obesity levels and demand for health and wellness focused pet food creates opportunities for pet food companies to capitalize on the rising profit potential through product differentiation. Lessons from the human food industry indicate that weight management segment of the market tends to grow fast and is characterized by high product differentiation and premiumization. Despite the recent rise in pet health and obesity studies, literature translating findings to actionable management and marketing insights in the pet food context is significantly underdeveloped. This paper bridges the agribusiness management and pet food economics literature by generating insights for informing product innovation, design, and marketing strategies of pet food companies aimed at promoting healthy weight in pets. Econometric analysis of cross-sectional data from a survey of 1,173 dog owners suggests that opportunities exist for potential pet food differentiation through physical changes, perceptual changes, and associated service changes in the pet food market related to handling pet obesity. Findings highlight the potential of low-calorie and breed-specific product formulation, pre-package product design, and consumer education through conventional and digital media. The management implications and actionable insights are discussed to inform product development and marketing strategies in the context of the fast-growing pet food market.
Keywords: health and wellness, marketing, dog food, pet owner, weight management

Friday, November 8, 2024 – Dr. Vanessa S. Gordon, University of Wisconsin – Madison

Title:

Winnow Your Research: Using Advanced Search Techniques to Separate the Wheat from the Chaff

Abstract:

Subject exploration can leave investigators wading through sheaves of information in search of applicable and/or reliable material. Robust research relies on three basic tenants: locating a reputable source, identifying keywords, and putting concepts together with precision and planning. This seminar will discuss and demonstrate the tools and methods for constructing targeted and relational citation database queries - guaranteed to conserve precious time resources and yield a bumper crop of applicable, on-topic, and trustworthy content. With tools that can be exploited across subject fields, become an information-harvesting expert and drive your team to success.

Bio

Vanessa S. Gordon, Ph.D., is a Plant Breeder/Molecular Geneticist who earned her degrees from the University of Wisconsin – Madison. She is a United States Navy active-duty veteran, and mother of four adult children, with 30+ years of outreach experience across a wide range of audiences. Dr. Gordon has worked in both private and public roles breeding a variety of fruit and vegetable-, bioenergy, and sugarcane crops. She now serves as the Coordinator of Agricultural and Natural Resources at the USDA National Agricultural Library, where she engages multiple Federal agencies, including 15 Agricultural Research Service National Programs, multiple NRCS focus groups, and both the Conservation Effects Assessment Program and Long-term Agroecological Research networks. Dr. Gordon is actively involved in creating new relationships that facilitate a greater intersection and understanding between USDA agricultural research pursuits and their meaningful integration with, translation for, and use by American public taxpayers, growers/ranchers, professionals, and policymakers.