UGA Ag & Applied Econ

07/24/2026

The future of food and the environment starts with AAEC 🐾
Congratulations to our alumni named to the 2026 University of Georgia 40 Under 40 list! This list celebrates young alumni who are leading their industries and communities around the world, and their recognition demonstrates the commitment to the future of agriculture and the environment vital to the and spirit ❤️🖤

Meet AAEC's 40 Under 40 Class of 2026:
- Ward Black (BSA in Agricultural Economics '09 and MS in Agricultural and Applied Economics '11)
- Travis Voyles (BSES in Environmental Economics and Management '11)

Read more about UGA's 40 Under 40 here: https://buff.ly/WvD9iq1

UGA College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences

07/16/2026

𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗱𝘂𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗲𝗱𝘂𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗽 𝗮𝗱𝗱𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗼𝗱 𝗶𝗻𝘀𝗲𝗰𝘂𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗶𝗻 𝗿𝘂𝗿𝗮𝗹 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗲𝘀?

A new UGA College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences 𝘊𝘈𝘌𝘚 𝘍𝘪𝘦𝘭𝘥 𝘙𝘦𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵 feature highlights how faculty and students in the 𝗨𝗚𝗔 𝗗𝗲𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗔𝗴𝗿𝗶𝗰𝘂𝗹𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗮𝗹 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗔𝗽𝗽𝗹𝗶𝗲𝗱 𝗘𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗼𝗺𝗶𝗰𝘀 partnered with the grassroots nonprofit 𝗜𝗻 𝗛𝗲𝗿 𝗦𝗵𝗼𝗲𝘀 to explore practical ways to expand access to fresh, healthy food.

The collaboration grew from a longstanding partnership between 𝗩𝗮𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗮 𝗣𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗲𝘁 𝗦𝗵𝗼𝗻𝗸𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗲𝗿 and 𝗜𝗻 𝗛𝗲𝗿 𝗦𝗵𝗼𝗲𝘀 founder and executive director 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗾𝘂𝗶𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝗠𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗵𝗮𝗺. Working with 𝗖𝗲𝘀𝗮𝗿 𝗘𝘀𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗲, the partnership became the foundation for a real-world project in AAEC 6980, Advanced Agribusiness Management, which is a core course for the AAEC Master of Agribusiness degree.

Fifteen Master of Agribusiness students, including recent graduates 𝗦𝗶𝗺𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗷𝗼𝘁 𝗞𝗮𝘂𝗿, 𝗧𝗶𝗺𝗶𝗹𝗲𝗵𝗶𝗻 𝗙𝗮𝘄𝗶𝗯𝗲, and 𝗦𝗲𝗮𝗻 𝗦𝗻𝗮𝗿𝗲𝘆, developed feasibility studies for three initiatives: a neighborhood grocery store, a mobile grocery market, and a fruit and vegetable processing facility that could help small farmers add value to their products. The students applied financial modeling, logistics, market analysis, and business planning to challenges facing underserved rural communities.

The article offers an excellent example of how faculty expertise, community partnerships, and experiential learning can come together to create practical benefits beyond the classroom.

Read “Feeding change: UGA students and faculty partner with grassroots nonprofit to tackle rural food insecurity” by 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗮 𝗟𝗮𝗺𝗲𝗶𝗿𝗮𝘀 with photography by 𝗦𝗲𝗮𝗻 𝗠𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗴𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗿𝘆:

UGA students and faculty partner with grassroots nonprofit to tackle rural food insecurity

06/02/2026

05/15/2026

𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗴𝗿𝗮𝘁𝘂𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗹𝗮𝗿𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽 𝗔𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗽𝗶𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗴𝗻𝗶𝘇𝗲𝗱 𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗱𝗲𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁’𝘀 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟲 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗿 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗰𝘁𝘀 𝗰𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗺𝗼𝗻𝘆!

Thanks to the generous support of our alumni and industry partners, we celebrated the accomplishments of 39 outstanding students across all four of our majors. These recipients exemplify academic excellence, leadership, and a commitment to service—core values of our department and the land-grant mission. We are proud of their achievements and grateful to the donors who make this recognition possible.

In addition, Conner Connects recognized students who have demonstrated exceptional scholastic achievement. Please join us in congratulating our outstanding juniors and seniors:

• 𝗔𝗴𝗿𝗶𝗯𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀: Katie McNeese and Analyn Ingram
• 𝗔𝗴𝗿𝗶𝗰𝘂𝗹𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗮𝗹 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗔𝗽𝗽𝗹𝗶𝗲𝗱 𝗘𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗼𝗺𝗶𝗰𝘀: Lucy Ray and Anna Clifton
• 𝗘𝗻𝘃𝗶𝗿𝗼𝗻𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝗘𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗼𝗺𝗶𝗰𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗠𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁: Henry Bush and Haden Drake
• 𝗛𝗼𝘀𝗽𝗶𝘁𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗙𝗼𝗼𝗱 𝗜𝗻𝗱𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘆 𝗠𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁: Maverick Garcia and Jay Lavender

Among our phenomenal graduate students pursuing advanced degrees, we also congratulate this year’s award recipients:

• 𝗟𝘆𝗻𝗲𝘀 𝗠𝗰𝗞𝗶𝗻𝗻𝗲𝘆 (Master of Agribusiness)
• 𝗦𝗵𝗶𝗸𝘀𝗵𝗶𝘁 𝗣𝗮𝗿𝗮𝗷𝘂𝗹𝗶 (Master of Science)
• 𝗦𝘂𝘀𝗺𝗶𝘁𝗵𝗮 𝗞𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗶 (Ph.D.)

Congratulations to all our award winners—we are proud of you and look forward to all that lies ahead!

05/02/2026

Each semester, one of the most rewarding parts of our work in the Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics at the University of Georgia is celebrating our graduate students as they complete and defend their final research projects.

Please join me in congratulating the following students on successfully defending their technical papers (MAB), theses (MS), and dissertations (PhD):

𝗔𝘀𝗵𝗹𝗲𝘆 𝗚𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗼, MAB Candidate
𝘋𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘚𝘈𝘙𝘌 𝘍𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘚𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘯 𝘜𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘚𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘴: 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘙𝘰𝘭𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘈𝘨𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘢𝘭 𝘚𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘊𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘰𝘥𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘝𝘢𝘭𝘶𝘦

𝗥𝗮𝗱𝗶𝘁𝗮 𝗛𝗼𝘀𝘀𝗮𝗶𝗻, MS Candidate
𝘌𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘞𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘗𝘢𝘺 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘉𝘪𝘰-𝘍𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘭𝘺 𝘗𝘢𝘤𝘬𝘢𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘨: 𝘗𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘋𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘱𝘩𝘪𝘤 𝘏𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘰𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘪𝘵𝘺

𝗦𝘂𝗹𝗮𝗸𝘀𝗵𝗮𝗻 𝗡𝗲𝘂𝗽𝗮𝗻𝗲, Doctoral Candidate
𝘐𝘴𝘴𝘶𝘦𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘏𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘵𝘩 𝘌𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘤𝘴: 𝘌𝘹𝘱𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘊𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥 𝘛𝘢𝘹 𝘊𝘳𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘵, 𝘊𝘰𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘳𝘺 𝘏𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘋𝘪𝘴𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘦, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘋𝘪𝘢𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘴

𝗛𝗮𝗲𝘄𝗼𝗻 𝗢𝗵, Doctoral Candidate
𝘌𝘴𝘴𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘰𝘯 𝘗𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘺 𝘐𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘌𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘤 𝘉𝘦𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘰𝘳: 𝘏𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘵𝘩, 𝘞𝘦𝘭𝘧𝘢𝘳𝘦, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘊𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘶𝘮𝘱𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯

𝗦𝗵𝗶𝗸𝘀𝗵𝗶𝘁 𝗣𝗮𝗿𝗮𝗷𝘂𝗹𝗶, MS Candidate
𝘌𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘤 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘙𝘪𝘴𝘬 𝘐𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘊𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘊𝘳𝘰𝘱 𝘈𝘥𝘰𝘱𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘪𝘯 𝘎𝘦𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘪𝘢 𝘙𝘰𝘸 𝘊𝘳𝘰𝘱 𝘚𝘺𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘮𝘴

𝗦𝗮𝘂𝗿𝗮𝗯𝗵 𝗦𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗺𝗮, MAB Candidate
𝘐𝘮𝘱𝘢𝘤𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘕𝘦𝘸 𝘚𝘬𝘪𝘭𝘭-𝘉𝘢𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘈𝘌𝘞𝘙 𝘚𝘺𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘮 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘗𝘳𝘰𝘧𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘣𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘝𝘪𝘥𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘢 𝘖𝘯𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘗𝘳𝘰𝘥𝘶𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯

𝗡𝗮𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗮 𝗧𝗮𝗵𝘀𝗶𝗻, MS Candidate
𝘌𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘚𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘊𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘯 𝘚𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨: 𝘛𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘜𝘴𝘦 𝘌𝘷𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘙𝘶𝘳𝘢𝘭 𝘌𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘰𝘱𝘪𝘢

𝗧𝘆𝗹𝗲𝗿 𝗪𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗮𝗺𝘀𝗼𝗻, MAB Candidate
𝘜𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘐𝘯𝘥𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘺 𝘗𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘯 𝘎𝘢𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘉𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘗𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘓𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘴𝘤𝘢𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘌𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘱𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵

These projects reflect the breadth of applied economic research in our department, from health and labor markets to agricultural production, policy, and environmental sustainability. Congratulations to each of you on reaching this milestone, and best wishes as you take the next step in your careers.

04/22/2026

The 𝟮𝗻𝗱 𝗮𝗻𝗻𝘂𝗮𝗹 𝗧𝗵𝗿𝗲𝗲 𝗠𝗶𝗻𝘂𝘁𝗲 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝘀𝗶𝘀 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗲𝘁𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 in the UGA Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics challenged graduate students to present their research in just three minutes using a single slide. It is a simple format, but not an easy one.

This year’s competition highlighted the strength and relevance of our graduate research. Students tackled complex questions across agriculture, policy, and environmental systems, and translated them into clear, engaging presentations for a broad audience.

The ability to communicate research beyond academic settings is critical. Our students demonstrated not only strong analytical work, but also the ability to connect that work to real-world decisions.

Congratulations to all of our participants, and especially to this year’s award winners:

𝗗𝗼𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗮𝗹 𝗦𝘁𝘂𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗲𝘁𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻
1st Place: Susmitha kalli
2nd Place: Kealey Collison

𝗠𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿’𝘀 𝗦𝘁𝘂𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗲𝘁𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻
1st Place: Katie Harper
2nd Place: Shiksh*t Parajuli

We also recognize the strong presentations from our additional participants: Aadesh Subedi, Kuhelika Ghosh, Ryan D'Aurelio, Saurabh Sharma, and Xinyu Zeng.

Thank you to our judges - Aaron Hrozencik, Ellen McCullough, and Lusi Xie - and to our faculty for supporting this event and continuing to build a strong culture of graduate research and communication.

04/01/2026

Agricultural economics is about more than markets. It is about understanding how people make decisions and how those decisions shape livelihoods around the world.

A new feature from the UGA College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences highlights the work of 𝗘𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗻 𝗠𝗰𝗖𝘂𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵 and how applied economics can be used to address global challenges in agriculture and development.

McCullough’s research spans food systems transformation, agricultural productivity, and household decision-making in low income countries. From collaborating with the Ethiopian government on soil and profitability models to developing innovative methods for measuring how women allocate their time, she brings new insight into labor, productivity, and economic opportunity.

𝗢𝗻𝗲 𝗸𝗲𝘆 𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗲𝗮𝘄𝗮𝘆 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗮𝗰𝗰𝘂𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲, 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹-𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲 𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗮. Her research shows that traditional survey methods can misrepresent how households allocate time, particularly for unpaid labor. Improved measurement leads to better policy design and more effective development programs.

The feature, written by Maria Lameiras with photography by Katie Walker, does an excellent job highlighting both the innovation in McCullough's research and its real-world implications.

Read more on the 𝗖𝗔𝗘𝗦 𝗙𝗶𝗲𝗹𝗱 𝗥𝗲𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁:

From studying food systems at Stanford to advising the United Nations, Ellen McCullough uses data-driven research to understand how agricultural policy, labor and household decision-making affect livelihoods worldwide, especially for women in developing countries.