SAC7: Agricultural Economics and Rural Sociology

(Multistate Research Coordinating Committee and Information Exchange Group)

Status: Active

SAES-422 Reports

Date of Annual Report: 10/27/2005

Report Information

Annual Meeting Dates: 10/27/2005 - 10/29/2005
Period the Report Covers: 01/01/2005 - 12/01/2005

Participants

Tom Spreen, University of Florida,
Dan McLemore, University of Tennessee,
Jon Brandt, North Carolina State University,
Jim Trapp, Oklahoma State University,
Hoke Hill, Clemson University,
Mark Cochran, University of Arkansas,
Curtis Jolly, Auburn University,
Jim Pease, Virginia Tech,
Fred White, University of Georgia,
Steve Turner, Mississippi State University,
Mark Waller, Texas A&M University

Brief Summary of Minutes

Tom Spreen called the meeting to order and welcomed the attendees. Brief introductions were made and state reports were delivered. Several issues arose as matters of concern. One pertained to the lack of viable faculty candidates for economic and rural development positions. The discussion centered around the paucity of Ph.D. candidates with this specialization from traditional agricultural economics departments. A similar discussion arose about the farm management area.

The next scheduled meeting of the Southern Regional Agricultural Economics Department Heads meeting is scheduled for February 5, 2006 in Orlando, FL. This meeting will be held in conjunction with the annual Southern Agriucltural Economics Association meeting.

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Date of Annual Report: 02/02/2014

Report Information

Annual Meeting Dates: 02/02/2014 - 02/02/2014
Period the Report Covers: 10/01/2013 - 09/30/2014

Participants

Brief Summary of Minutes

Accomplishments

Publications

Impact Statements

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Date of Annual Report: 02/01/2015

Report Information

Annual Meeting Dates: 02/01/2015 - 02/01/2015
Period the Report Covers: 10/01/2014 - 09/30/2015

Participants

Brief Summary of Minutes

Accomplishments

Publications

Impact Statements

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Date of Annual Report: 02/07/2016

Report Information

Annual Meeting Dates: 02/07/2016 - 02/07/2016
Period the Report Covers: 10/01/2016 - 09/30/2017

Participants

Brief Summary of Minutes

Accomplishments

Publications

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Date of Annual Report: 02/05/2017

Report Information

Annual Meeting Dates: 02/05/2017 - 02/05/2017
Period the Report Covers: 10/01/2016 - 09/30/2017

Participants

Brief Summary of Minutes

Accomplishments

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Date of Annual Report: 02/09/2018

Report Information

Annual Meeting Dates: 02/04/2018 - 02/04/2018
Period the Report Covers: 10/01/2017 - 09/30/2018

Participants

Dr. Barry Barnett representing University of Kentucky
Dr. Michael Salassi representing Louisiana State
Dr. Michael Woods representing Oklahoma State
Dr. Keith Coble representing Mississippi State University
Dr. Parr Rosson representing Texas A&M
Dr. Octavio Ramirez representing University of Georgia
Dr. Spiro Stefanou representing University of Florida
Dr. Reuben Moore representing the Southern Directors

Brief Summary of Minutes

Accomplishments

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Date of Annual Report: 03/08/2019

Report Information

Annual Meeting Dates: 02/03/2019 - 02/03/2019
Period the Report Covers: 02/04/2018 - 02/03/2019

Participants

Barry Barnett
Kelly Bryant
Keith Coble
Joshua Duke
Lisa House

Brief Summary of Minutes

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Date of Annual Report: 01/01/1970

Report Information

Annual Meeting Dates: 02/13/2022 - 02/13/2022
Period the Report Covers: 01/01/1970 - 01/01/1970

Participants

Brief Summary of Minutes

Accomplishments

<p>SAC7 Report from Annual Meeting February 2022.&nbsp; Submitted by Josh Duke, Auburn, March 21, 2022</p><br /> <p>The 2022 annual meeting was held February 13, 2022, at the Southern Agricultural Economics Association Meeting in New Orleans, and it was attended by Dept Chairs/Heads or representatives from most of the region&rsquo;s ag econ programs: Auburn, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Tennessee-Knoxville, LSU, Florida, Clemson, Kentucky, Georgia, Texas A&amp;M.&nbsp; Also, attending were a few other university and USDA administrators as guests.&nbsp; SAC7 Administrative Advisor Michael Salassi also attended.&nbsp; The meeting was chaired by Josh Duke.</p><br /> <p>A pre-meeting survey of SAC7 members identified priority items for discussion:</p><br /> <ul><br /> <li>Opportunities to work together to enhance ag econ in the South</li><br /> <li>Experiences as administrators interacting with external stakeholder groups</li><br /> <li>Evolving needs of assistant professors: How best to mentor them?</li><br /> <li>Observed changes in graduate student recruitment</li><br /> <li>2021-22 hiring challenges/successes</li><br /> </ul><br /> <p>Discussion at the meeting also included topics such as:</p><br /> <ul><br /> <li>Trends in PhD graduate stipends. Reported range from $16,000 to $30,000+, but some universities require students to pay tuition and some colleges have fees.&nbsp; So, the variation in net stipends may not be as large as the stipend range implies.</li><br /> <li>Starting assistant professor salaries. Reported within $10,000 of SREB average.</li><br /> <li>Preparation within undergraduate agribusiness programs for graduate studies in agricultural economics.</li><br /> </ul><br /> <p>State reports were submitted on undergraduate and graduate student enrollment, faculty numbers.</p><br /> <ul><br /> <li>Clemson&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 123 Undergraduates&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 11 Graduates&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 10 Faculty (including current hiring)</li><br /> <li>Georgia&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 350 Undergraduates&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 110 Graduates&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 34 Faculty (including current hiring)</li><br /> <li>Texas A&amp;M&nbsp; 1,135 Undergraduates&nbsp;&nbsp; 135 Graduates&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 73 Faculty (including current hiring)</li><br /> <li>Auburn&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 182 Undergraduates&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 31 Graduates&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 18 Faculty (including current hiring)</li><br /> <li>Tennessee&nbsp;&nbsp; 86 Undergraduates&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 18 Graduates&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 22 Faculty (including current hiring)</li><br /> <li>Kentucky&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 190 Undergraduates&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 27 Graduates&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 20 Faculty (including current hiring)</li><br /> <li>Florida &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 180 Undergraduates&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 55 Graduates&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 42 Faculty (including current hiring)</li><br /> <li>Arkansas&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 338 Undergraduates&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 39 Graduates&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 23 Faculty (including current hiring)</li><br /> </ul><br /> <p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</p><br /> <p>&nbsp;</p>

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Date of Annual Report: 02/19/2024

Report Information

Annual Meeting Dates: 02/04/2024 - 02/04/2024
Period the Report Covers: 02/10/2023 - 02/09/2024

Participants

The 2024 annual meeting was held February 4, 2024, at the Southern Agricultural Economics Association Meeting in Atlanta. In attendance were Dept Chairs/Heads or representatives from many of the region’s ag econ programs: Auburn, Arkansas, North Carolina A&T, Oklahoma, Tennessee-Knoxville, Florida. Also, attending were a few others (university or USDA administrators) as guests. The meeting was chaired (on an interim basis) by Josh Duke.

Brief Summary of Minutes

Discussion at the meeting included topics such as:



  • Departmental faculty versus professional advising: Experiences, pros, and cons

  • Undergraduate and graduate programming within departments, including Masters of Ag Business and online programming. Trends in student numbers at the graduate and undergraduate level

  • 2023-24 faculty hiring plans/challenges/successes. Faculty staffing levels and gaps. College/University processes for approving faculty positions to be hired

  • On-going efforts at the NAAEA and AAEA level on STEM designation for ag econ degrees (updates from NAAEA officers)

  • Novel efforts to cover classes when faculty teaching FTEs are insufficient


State reports were submitted on undergraduate and graduate student enrollment, faculty numbers (all numbers are estimates).  Note that some departments also have non-agricultural-economics degrees, so the numbers are not necessarily comparable.



  • Auburn          200 Undergraduates      30 Graduates                       18 Faculty (including current hiring)

  • Carolina A&T 160 Undergraduates       Graduates                            23 Faculty (including current hiring)

  • Tennessee     120 Undergraduates       23-30 Graduates                  20 Faculty (including current hiring)

  • Oklahoma St 600 Undergraduates       15 Graduates                       26 Faculty (including current hiring)

  • Florida          200 Undergraduates       80-90 Graduates                  38 Faculty (including current hiring)

  • Arkansas      580 Undergraduates        Graduates                           20 Faculty (including current hiring)

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