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Sarah Low

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Professor; Department Head

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Mission Statement

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Dr. Low is passionate about the land-grant mission\'s research, teaching and extension pillars, and she enjoys leading and mentoring others committed to serving this mission. Her research emphasizes how to support and facilitate regional economic development. Drawing on her experience in federal government, Dr. Low prioritizes policy-relevant issues. Her research interests include business dynamics, broadband impacts, rural household well-being, value-added agriculture, and entrepreneurial ecosystem building.

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Sharon Allen

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Instructor

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Mary Arends-Kuenning

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Professor; Acting Associate Dean of International Programs

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Mission Statement

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Dr. Arends-Kuenning studies the decisions that households make about fertility, schooling, and work. She examines the implications of these decisions for household membersā€™ present and future well-being.

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Shadi Atallah

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Associate Professor

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Matthew Barnard

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Academic Instructors

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Keith Baum

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Academic Instructors

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Anil K. Bera

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Professor in the Department of Economics

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Meredith Blumthal

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Instructor, Director of Food & Agribusiness Management Program

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John Breen

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Instructor

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Lavontae Darrelle Brooks

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Academic Instructors

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Jerard M. Brune

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Academic Instructors

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Hannah Rose Budzynski

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Academic Instructors

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David S. Bullock

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Professor

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Mission Statement

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Dr. Bullock leads the Data Intensive Farm Management (DIFM) research team that generates and analyzes “Big” agronomic data to improve the way the world fertilizes its crops. DIFM works with participating farmers, using GPS-reliant precision agriculture technology to conduct large-scale agronomic field trials on farmers’ own fields, to generate yield, input management, and field characteristics data in quantities and of quality only recently imaginable. DIFM’s research also looks at the effects of fertilizer management practices on water quality, with the aim of discovering efficient means of reducing the loss of nitrogen fertilizer into the Mississippi River basin.

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Diego Cardoso

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Assistant Professor

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Peter Christensen

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Zero-Time Faculty

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Mission Statement

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Dr. Christensen leads a team of economists and computer scientists who are integrating new forms of data, machine learning algorithms, and large-scale experiments into economic research in his role as a core faculty member at the National Center for Supercomputing Applications (NCSA). He focuses on energy and environmental economics, particularly as related to public goods provision in cities around the world.

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Jonathan W. Coppess

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Associate Professor; Director of the Gardner Agriculture Policy Program

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Mission Statement

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Mr. Coppess’ experience in federal policymaking guides his research, extension, and teaching in agricultural policy and law. His work connects the history of federal agricultural policy development to current policy development, specifically applied to risk management and natural resource conservation.

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Sandy Dall\'Erba

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Professor, Director of CREATE

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Mission Statement

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The current research of Dr. Dall\'erba and of his group focuses on the impact of climate change on agriculture and the global food supply chain based on spatial interaction models (spatial econometrics, network econometrics, interregional input-output, structural gravity models). Applications of his work deal with environmental accounts (e.g. water use, GHG, plastic waste) and the impact of climate change - including extreme events - on agriculture, food security and the global supply chain.
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Seth Elam

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Academic Instructors

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Ailie Elmore

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Instructor

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Bryan Endres

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Professor; Director of Bock Ag Law/Policy Program

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Mission Statement

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Dr. Endres studies the impact of law throughout food and bio-products supply chains and develops solutions to improve regulatory outcomes. He explores a range of issues, including legal structures to support farms engaged in direct marketing, small farm regulatory compliance, liability issues relating to use of genetically engineered seed, and developing cooperative legal structures to better manage invasive plants.

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Brittney Kay Goodrich

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Assistant Professor

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Ryan Goodrich

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Clinical Assistant Professor

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Lisa Christine Gundersen

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Lecturer

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Olivia Grace Hamilton

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Academic Instructors

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Deborah A. Held

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Academic Instructors

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Catalina Herrera Almanza

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Assistant Professor

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Gal Hochman

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Professor

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Andrew B. Hultgren

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Assistant Professor

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Jared Hutchins

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Assistant Professor

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Scott H. Irwin

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Professor; Laurence J. Norton Chair of Agricultural Marketing

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Mission Statement

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Joe Janzen

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Associate Professor

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Sarah Janzen

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Associate Professor

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Maria Helen Kalaitzandonakes

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Assistant Professor

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Madhu Khanna

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Professor; Director of iSEE; ACES Distinguished Professor in Environmental Economics

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Mission Statement

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Dr. Khanna examines the motivations for producers to adopt innovative production technologies to meet demands for food and fuel, such as precision farming, biofuels, and to participate in conservation programs. Her work informs stakeholders and policy makers about the cost-effectiveness of various policy approaches to improve environmental quality and their implications for farm profitability, land use and food and fuel production.

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Ted Knapp

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Academic Instructors

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Chris Korban

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Academic Instructors

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Jacob D. Kuebler

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Instructor

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Craig Lemoine

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Clinical Associate Professor; Director, Financial Planning Program and Ag Focused Financial Planning Program

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Mission Statement

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Dr. Craig Lemoine, CFP® is the Director of the Financial Planning Program at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He is an Associate Clinical Professor of Financial Planning and teaches several in-person and online classes, including ACE240 Personal Financial Planning which teaches almost 2,000 students annually about money fundamentals and the world of financial services. Craig leads one of the largest Certified Financial Planning Board Registered undergraduate programs with over 185 students. The Illinois financial planning program was recently recognized by wealthmanagement.com as one of the top nine financial planning programs in the country.
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In addition to his work as a professor, Dr. Lemoine serves as the Director of the Agriculture Focused Financial Planning (AFFP®) designation. This mission-focused certification has over 100 designees and helps financial service professionals better serve their farming and ranching clients. Developing the AFFP® fueled a drive to better understand land as an asset class, leading to Craig creating and hosting the Land & Everything Else Podcast in 2023. Content from the podcast enabled him to create a series of Coursera courses on alternative investments in 2024 including: Alternative Investments and Taxes: Cracking the Code, Regulatory Landscape of Alternative Investments, Alternative Investments as We Age: Building Wealth, and Alternative Investments as We Age: Retirement and Legacy Planning.
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Dr. Lemoine has served as the Editor of the Journal of Personal Finance since 2022, keeping him engaged in current literature across wealth management, consumer economics and financial planning. Craig is also on the Board of Directors for Country Trust Bank and served on the FinServ Foundation advisory board from 2020-2024. Before joining Illinois in 2017, Craig was the Certified Financial Program Champion and an Associate Professor of Financial Planning at The American College of Financial Services.
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Between his time at The American College and the University of Illinois, Craig has taught well over 100,000 students. Craig’s passion and innovation in teaching financial planning has been recognized by the College of Agriculture, Consumer and Environmental Sciences, winning the Specialized Faculty Teaching Award in 2024 and the John Clyde and Henrietta Downey Spitler Teaching Award in 2023.
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When he is not in the classroom, Craig enjoys gardening, spending time with his three awesome kids, and a healthy dose of nerdom.
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Alexander C. Lo

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Instructor

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Natalie Loduca

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Clinical Assistant Professor

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Mission Statement

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Dr. Loduca\'s work is centered on strengthening the economic sustainability of agriculture and supporting farming communities. She focuses on identifying strategies that build resilience to weather variability and reduce production risks through the adoption of effective management strategies and conservation practices.

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Angela Christine Lyons

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Professor

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Mission Statement

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My research program applies economic theory and empirical methods to address policy-relevant questions related to economic and financial inclusion. I leverage frontier tools in data scienceā€”such as machine learning, geospatial analysis, and novel data sourcesā€”to better understand and address global poverty, economic vulnerability, and inequality. My work contributes to advancing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by focusing on key challenges including food insecurity, financial and digital literacy, household finance, and the economic empowerment and protection of vulnerable populations. The ultimate goal of my research is to inform the design of practical, data-driven, and sustainable solutions that enhance the livelihoods, financial security, and economic resilience of families and communities around the world.

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Les Marti

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Academic Instructors

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Lily Martinez

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Academic Instructors

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Gerald Mashange

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Assistant Professor

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Paul E. McNamara

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Professor; Director of AgReach

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Mission Statement

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Dr. McNamara develops and strengthens extension services to help them meet the needs of some of the world’s poorest smallholder farmers in places like Ghana, Kenya, and Malawi. Through his AgReach Program, he assists organizations and programs that reach over 12 million smallholder farmers and helps them to improve their agricultural productivity, increase their incomes, and achieve better household food security.

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Hope C. Michelson

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Professor

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Mission Statement

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Dr. Michelson studies the dynamics of poverty and food security in low-income countries where market failures are a fact of life. One of her key subjects is the interaction of international development efforts with local and large-scale agribusiness. She investigates how small farmers respond to the expansion of international supply chains, the sourcing of agricultural products, and the buying and selling of agricultural inputs.

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Victor G. Miely

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Academic Instructors

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Carl Nelson

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Associate Professor

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Mary E. Olsen

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Academic Instructors

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Nicholas D. Paulson

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Professor; Gardner Hinderliter Professor

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Mission Statement

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Dr. Paulson helps agricultural producers make the best farm- and risk-management decisions possible to optimize profitability and environmental sustainability. He analyzes government policies impacting agriculture, including crop insurance, commodity, and biofuels programs.

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Peggy J. Phillips

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Academic Instructors

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Sam Phillips

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Academic Instructors

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Rheanon Rabideau

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Academic Instructors

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Robert Rhea

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Academic Instructors

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Catherine L. Riddick

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Academic Instructors

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William Ridley

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Associate Professor

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Michel A. Robe

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Zero-Time Faculty

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Mission Statement

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Dr. Robe provides insight on the financialization and the automation of commodity trading. His research reveals their impact on commodity pricing and market liquidity. He is advancing our understanding of the causes and consequences of price volatility in financial and commodity markets, improving grain price forecasting.

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Jacqueline A. Rutledge

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Academic Instructors

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Donovan Sanchez

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Instructor

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Gary Donald Schnitkey

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Professor; Soybean Industry Chair in Agricultural Strategy

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Mission Statement

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Dr. Schnitkey uses Farm Business Farm Management (FBFM) data on revenue and costs to analyze profitability of major field crops and to assess impacts of farm programs and risk management strategies. His research informs farmers of the most profitable rotations and encourages long-term change to impact yield.

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Maria Teresa Serra Devesa

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Professor; Hieronymous Distinguished Chair; Director of OFOR; Director of Graduate Studies

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Mission Statement

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Dr. Serra studies agricultural commodity financial markets, including price discovery in agricultural futures markets, forecasting, risk management, and volatility spillovers. Her recent research focuses on market microstructure in the age of electronic and high frequency trading.

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Bruce Sherrick

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Professor; Director, TIAA Center for Farmland Research; Fruin Professor in Land Economics

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Mission Statement

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Dr. Sherrick helps make crop insurance programs work better for crop producers across the United States. Through Farmer Mac, he helps create and implement loan-funding programs that increase farmers’ access to capital. As a member of the Farmland Technical Advisory Board, he coordinates the required calculations that support the use-value farmland assessment system in Illinois. He helps build information systems for agricultural asset markets that utilize big data and novel computational strategies to better understand farmland values.

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Steven E. Siebers

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Academic Instructors

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Tapiwa Sigauke

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Teaching Assistant Professor

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Marin Elisabeth Skidmore

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Assistant Professor

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Aaron Joseph Staples

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Assistant Professor of Agribusiness Management

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Paul B. Stoddard

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Senior Lecturer

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Mission Statement

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Mr. Stoddard challenges students to think about new things in different ways and old things in new ways in order to open up new areas of study and exploration in agricultural economics. Every day, he strives to reduce knowledge to “that simple compound of the obvious and the wonderful”, as H. L. Mencken put it, to help students become passionate ambassadors for agriculture, for the business of food, and for the department and college.

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