october 2009 from the economic impact of cotton ginning · cotton ginning. economic impact of...

1 Department of Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness

The department has had a ban-ner year. We graduated a record number of both undergraduate and graduate students. In the spring se-mester, 58 undergraduates earned their degrees, and in 2009 eight students completed their Ph.D.

During the last few years, fac-ulty members have been selected for many leadership positions in the profession. Currently, Dr. Wes Harrison is president of the Food Distribution Research Society, and Dr. Hector Zapata is president of the Southern Agricultural Econom-ics Association.

Pam Fenn retired in June of this year, and Debbie Mosher is planning to retire in November. Pam handled the accounting and human resource duties in the de-partment for the last 36 years. Deb-bie has handled academic matters in addition to her routine daily du-ties for all the faculty and depart-ment head for their research and other programs. Debbie has served

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The cotton indus-try in Louisiana has seen major structural changes in a very short time. Total cotton pro-duction in Louisiana has seen an almost 75 percent reduction be-tween 2005 and 2008. Although a portion of this production loss was due to unharvest-able cotton acres and reduced yields due to Hurricane Gustav in 2008, the larger trend is the downward slide in cotton acres planted.

LSU AgCenter economists Drs. Matthew Fannin and Ken Paxton have been monitoring these changes in the past four years and have conducted multiple economic impact analyses to understand how the changes have af-fected the overall cotton supply chain. An economic impact study published last year by Fannin and Paxton showed no measurable net negative effects from the measurable change in planted acres that switched from cotton into corn during 2007 in Louisiana. A

Economic Impact of Cotton Ginning

closer inspection of this analysis, however, showed that cotton farmers benefited from a relatively high corn price and an optimal growing and har-vest season that year while other parts of the supply chain saw either negative or reduced positive effects from the switch. One of the components of the supply chain most affected was cotton ginning.

The economic impact in 2007 of the cotton ginning industry on the overall economy of Louisiana totaled more than $48 million. This included more than $32 million of direct spend-ing by the cotton ginning industry. Cotton gins require significant repair and maintenance in advance of and during the ginning season. Support activities such as sheet metal suppli-ers and contractors, electricians and retail gin part suppliers are measurably

Cotton harvesting - Louisiana

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October 2009

From the Department Head

Gail L. Cramer


Livestock economist Dr. Ross Pruitt’s program has focused on pro-viding producers and other clientele groups in the state the knowledge to make informed economic decisions. One of the most visible aspects of his program has been a bi-weekly newsletter that provides a mixture of outlook, economic management and national news affecting livestock producers in the state. In addition to the newsletter, Dr. Pruitt has spo-ken at several parish cattlemen’s meetings providing a more detailed outlook presentation to Louisiana producers. Another area of focus has been working with the Master Cattle-man Program with effort devoted to revising the economic and marketing curriculum. He also has served in an advisory role to state clientele groups on their initiatives.

In addition to the above, several spreadsheet decision-making tools have been created for Louisiana cattle producers. Based on a spread-sheet tool originally created by Dr. Kenneth Wegenhoft, a cow/heifer investment tool was revised that allowed producers to determine the

Extension Livestock Economics Program

maximum amount of money that could be invested in a heifer or cow. The sec-ond tool allows producers to calculate the historical value of gain by placing additional weight on cattle over several months. Included in this spreadsheet are historical monthly prices and seasonal indices for cattle of different weight classes in Louisiana. Both of these tools are currently available on

Herding beef cattle on Louisiana farm.

the LSU AgCenter Web site. A fact sheet detailing cattle price seasonality in Louisiana also has been published and is available on the AgCenter Web site.

Dr. Pruitt is also currently engaged in adapting the yearly beef and dairy enterprise budgets into a spreadsheet format that producers can adjust to their specific circumstances.

Dr. Hector Zapata has students in his price analysis course analyze real world problems. These experiences with data from the real world are supplemented by visits from people in the private sector who share their experi-ences. This past semester, the class was visited by two former students and current owners of the Serranos Salsa Company, Andy Blouin and Sean Malone. Andy and Sean received B.S. degrees from the college of Agriculture in Agricultural Business. During the visit, they listened to a class presentation on the oil market by current students John Welborn, Brittney Williams, Radaja Williams and Erika Wyatt before discussing starting and managing a new business. Andy and Sean told the class of their expe-riences as students at LSU and how they got started in the restaurant business.

From left to right Sean Malone, Erika Wyatt, Andy Blouin, John Welborn, Radaja Williams and Brittney Williams.

Zapata’s Price Analysis Course Analyzes Real World Problems

Extension Highlights


Extension professors Drs. Rex H. Caffey and Kurt M. Guidry with the LSU Department of Agricultural Economics and Agri-business have been recognized by the Cooperative State Research, Education and Extension Service (CSRESS) for their contributions supporting post-disaster programming in the wake of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Caffey and Guidry are part of a larger group, the “After the Storms Team,” from the LSU AgCenter that received the CSREES Partnership Award for Innovative Program Models. For their part, Caffey and Guidry developed post-storm economic dam-age assessment models for more than 30 sectors of agriculture and natural resources. Their models were also used in the wake of Hur-ricanes Gustav and Ike.

Dr. James Barnes, assistant professor and director at the Delta Rural Development Center, was appointed to the Louisiana Broad-band Advisory Council by Governor Bobby Jindal. The council is made up of 24 members across the state. The purpose of the group is to seek ways to expand broadband service, and thus economic op-portunity, to rural Louisiana.

Dr. Hector Zapata, William H. Alexander Regents Professor, is currently serving as president of the Southern Agricultural Econom-ics Association. Dr. Zapata has been selected as the book review editor for the American Journal of Agricultural Economics.

Dr. Michael Dunn has been selected as a peer reviewer for the Journal of Extension for a three-year term that began March 1, 2009. Dr. Dunn, along with his co-author Dr. Richard Vlosky, received a Southern Regional Extension Forestry Silver Award for their journal publication titled “A Regional View of Extension Employee Percep-tions of Scholarship in the Workplace,” published in the Journal of Extension.

Dr. R. Wes Harrison is currently serving as president of the Food Distribution Research Society.

Dr. Steven Henning was named to the LSU Gamma Sigma Delta Teaching Merit Honor Roll.

Dr. Jeffrey Gillespie was named to the LSU Gamma Sigma Delta Teaching Merit Honor Roll.

Dr. Kurt Guidry, received the Gamma Sigma Delta Extension Award of Merit. Dr. Guidry was also recognized as an Outstanding Academic Alumni by the LSU Agricultural Economics and Agribusi-ness Alumni Association at its November 15, 2008 meeting.

Dr. Alvin R. Schupp, professor emeritus, received the Distin-guished Alumni Award from Gamma Sigma Delta.

Dr. Matthew Fannin, along with graduate student Arun Adhikari, received the third place award in the poster competition at the 2009 Southern Agricultural Economics meetings for a poster titled “Evalu-ating the Relative Performance of Alternative Local Government Revenue and Expenditure Estimators in Community Policy Analysis Models.”

Rex H. Caffey

Kurt M. Guidry

Hector Zapata

Michael Dunn

R. Wes Harrison

Steven Henning

Jeffrey Gillespie

Matthew Fannin

Faculty Awards and Recognition


In Memoriam The department is saddened to

report the death of Dr. Alvin C. Harper. Dr. Harper graduated cum laude from LSU in 1952 with a bachelor’s and received a mas-ter’s in 1954, both in agricultural economics. He re-ceived a Ph.D. in 1962 from Purdue University. Harp-er served in the LSU System from 1953–1984. He started his career as an associate in agricultural economics in 1953 and was promoted to full professor. In 1961, he moved to LSU-Alexandria and served as the business manager. He became the vice president for administration and facility planning for the LSU System in 1977. He was appointed chancellor of the LSU AgCenter in 1980 and served through 1984.

the department for 33 years. We ap-preciate their outstanding service and wish them the best. When any of you come to Baton Rouge, please give Pam and Debbie a call. They would appreciate hearing from you.

Drs. Gene Johnson and Sandy Dooley will both be retiring in the next few months. Dr. Johnson will retire in October and Dr. Dooley in November. Dr. Johnson had re-sponsibility for the extension Rice and Cotton Marketing Program for the last 33 years. He has been very successful and will be missed by farmers and the faculty. Dr. Dooley has been developing the Community Development Program in the state and has been honored nationally for this program. The Legislature has

Department Head(Continued from page 1)

been very supportive of his program and has provided funds to the AgCen-ter for continued effort. Dr. Dooley will likely continue working part-time with this program after he retires.

Debra Boudreaux was hired to fill Pam’s position. Debra comes to us from the bursar’s office on campus and is learning the new position.

The graduate students have been very active giving professional papers at the Southern Agricultural Econom-ics Association and the Agricultural and Applied Economics Association meetings. The undergraduate club trav-eled to California and visited several agribusinesses this past spring.

Dr. Rex Caffey has hired two new post-doc students, Dr. Matthew Free-man and Dr. Tao Ran for his Sea Grant program. Freeman has his Ph.D. from the University of Rhode Island and Tao Ran received her Ph.D. from LSU.

Dr. Freeman’s appointment will be 50 percent extension and 50 percent research in fisheries. Dr. Tao Ran has a 100 percent research appointment.

As many of you have heard, the legislature has made some budget cuts to the educational programs at LSU and the LSU AgCenter. These cuts may extend over a period of sev-eral years. Your support of the LSU Forever Campaign is greatly appreci-ated. We continue to solicit funding for scholarships, professorships and other facilities to promote the depart-ment. We are a stronger department because of your financial support.

Don’t forget HOMECOMING is November 14, 2009! Please join us for our regular alumni meeting and activities on the campus. Hope to see you there!

Gail Cramer,

Professor and Head

J. Norman Efferson Lecture SeriesThrough the generous contributions of the many friends of the late J.

Norman Efferson, an endowment in his honor has been established. Dr. Ef-ferson was a faculty member of the department and the first chancellor of LSU AgCenter. The endowment supports a lecture series named in his honor. Through this support, the department is able to bring outstanding research-ers in a variety of areas to campus to not only present seminars, but interact with our faculty and graduate students. This activity is a tremendous asset for the department. Currently, Dr. John Westra coordinates arrangements for lectures presented in this series. There were three presenters in the series this past year, making a total of seven seminar presentations. The visitors and their topics were:

Dr. Walt Armbruster, President Emeritus, Farm Foundation Agriculture’s Strategic Role in Feeding and Fueling a Growing World ClimateChangeandtheAsia-PacificFoodSystem FoodMarketingSystemsDr. Won Koo, Chamber of Commerce Distinguished Professor and Director of Cen-terforAgriculturalPolicyandTradeStudies,NorthDakotaStateUniversity MacroeconomicVariablesAffectingNetFarmIncomeintheUnitedStatesDr. Andy Schmitz, Professor and Eminent Scholar, Food and Resource Economics Department,UniversityofFlorida ScitovskyReversalsandBenefitCostAnalyses? TheEconomicsofBiofuels

TariffsandQuotasinVerticalMarkets

Alvin C. Harper


The Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness Alumni Association established several scholarships made possible through the generous contributions of alumni and friends. Awards for these scholarships are made at the annual meet-ing of the association held each year in conjunction with homecoming activities. A listing of the scholarships and the recipients for 2008-09 follows:

State FFA Farm Management Contest Winner (voucherforscholarship) Cody Scott

Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness Alumni Scholarship José Argüello Ryan Alexander Barnette India Nicole Benton

E.P.RoyMemorialScholarship Jordan Ryan Head

Professor William H. Alexander Memorial Scholarship Grant M. Guidroz

Eric O. Goudeau Memorial Scholarship John Middleton Welborn III

DwayneA.ZaunbrecherMemorialScholarship Lauren Claire Heinen

BuefordM.GileMemorialScholarship Andrew Hill Cassidy

StudentsreceivingscholarshipsthroughtheCollegeofAgriculture included:

CapitalBank&trustAgriculturalScholarship Andrew Hill Cassidy

C.W.CauseyScholarship Weldon Artie Nipper

LouisianaCountyAgriculturalAgents4-HScholarship Jordan Ryan Head

Staplcotn Scholarship Sarah Leigh Laborde

Visit our Web sites www.lsuagcenter.com

or www.agecon.lsu.edu

From the Graduate StudentsScholarship and Award Recipients

From the Graduate StudentsThis has been a very successful year for graduate stu-

dents. During the year students participated in several profes-sional meetings, received a number of awards and conducted a number of activities under the auspices of the Agricultural Economics Graduate Student Association (AEGSA). Most important, students graduating from the program were able to secure gainful employment.

During the fall semester, more than 20 members attended the traditional fall potluck dinner. The potluck dinner pro-vides an opportunity for new graduate students to meet the faculty and other students.

The department was well represented by the graduate students at the 2009 Southern Agricultural Economics Asso-ciation Annual meeting in Atlanta, Georgia. Students pre-sented a total of 13 papers and four posters. Graduate student Arun Adhikari and faculty member Matt Fannin received the third place plaque for their poster “Evaluating the Relative Performance of Alternative Local Government Revenue and Expenditure Estimators in Community Policy Models.” Arun Adhikari also received the Graduate Student Merit Honor Roll Award from the LSU chapter of Gamma Sigma Delta in March. In April, 25 students attended a seminar sponsored by the department discussing job searchs and the interview-ing process.

Summer 2009 started with a bang! Ph.D candidate Tina Willson has accepted a post-doctoral position at the Univer-sity of Wyoming. Eight graduate students attended the Agri-cultural and Applied Economics Association annual meeting in Milwaukee, July 26-29, 2009, presented five papers and one poster.

Graduate Student Honors and Recognition

Arun Adhikari was named to the Gamma Sigma Delta Graduate Student Merit Honor Roll. Abhishek Bharad, Aude Liliana Pujula, Gnel Gabrielyan, Aditya Raj Khanal and David Maradiaga were elected to serve on the International Cultural Centers executive com-mittee. Jeremy D’Antoni has been elected to the Agri-cultural and Applied Economics Association Graduate Student Society executive committee. Cheikhna Ould Dedah was selected as the outstanding Ph.D. gradu-ate student in the department. He was recognized for this achievement by the LSU Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness Alumni Association at its meeting on November 15, 2008.


2008-2009 Graduates

August 2008Bachelor of ScienceEmilyArnettCaroline Heintz Caroline MilekCandaceTempleMaster of ScienceNandiniBandyopadhyayRyanBourriaqueMarco VelateguiDecember 2008Bachelor of ScienceDouglas Matthew BarksdaleIndiaNicoleBentonDanielJamesBrattonChristineNgocBuiAdam Joseph CampbellMitchell Alan ChampagneCaneanKyleChatagnierNikitaNicoleColeCade Elliot CothernReginald D. DardarMadeline Clare DurrBlairN.EwingJenna Elaine FarekJustinRayForemanJimmyBrunotGaiennieIIIAdamTre′GautreauxMeaghanLindseyGibbsGretchen Elizabeth GoetzDustin Michael GounerJared Edward Green

KyleHughesHarrisDavidWilliamsHillMarkAnthonyHonoréJr.LindseyVivianImmsMatthewWilliamKellyBrendanCharlesKenningWilliamJosephKennyLindseyClaireLegerDominicStevenLukeChristopherWesleyMaggioAudrey LynnMcCauleyChristopher Patrick McDavidCaleb Aaron McKenzieEmilyInezMeyersMatthew Clarke MillerJosieYvetteMonconduitJessica Loraine MontgomeryJacob W. MorrisRoland James Orgeron Jr. RudyHermanPercifulBlakeJamesPurcellGeneRydellRossJr.RyanJamesSmithRossMichaelTalbotMatthewEugeneTalleyDemorrioDarnailThomasMatthewKeithThomsonJenniferAnnTravisRoss Michael Waguespack

Doctorate TaoRanMay 2009Bachelor of ScienceJustin Gerard AllainNeilDavidAndersonChristopherWilliamAylorRyanAlexanderBarnetteRyanPaulBeanMarcAlexanderBethelAislynnMarieBordelonChristopher Joseph BordelonHunterThomasBoyntonKevinAllenBrannenJoshuaMalcolmBriscoeBenjaminDouglasBrownLance Mark CalleganDanielle Margot CanedoJonathanTaylorCarltonChristopherGilbertCaseyAndrewHillCassidyErick Antonio ChupinaHarold L.ColemanIIINealMorrisCollinsKelseyAnthonyCooperRachelA.DavezacMichaelThomasForemanRachel Elisse GatesKayleyBrigidGautreauxNicholasAdrianGuichardSeanCooleyGuidryDanaJulianneHays

From the Undergraduate Students

BenjaminAdamHillsonAuseS.IsmailMichelle Elise JaubertJohn Aaron JohnsonStacia Allison JortnerMichael A. KalantariCandaceJudyKennieMatthewJamesLandryTrishaMarieLangloisKevinLouisMcCarthyHollisLarkinMcCrayAronGlennNewtonBrandiNicoleNyeChristopherSeanReynoldsWesleyPaulRhodesJr.James Colorado RobertsonBrendanPatrickRossRamon V. RussellKatieLynnSchenckBrittanyNicoleSmithAustin Rhein StandishCarlos Orlando StreberChristopherBlakeVincentClint Abraham Walker Jr.Scott McCullen WatkinsTroyMeShunWatsonJohnMiddletonWelbornIIIBrittneyCherelleWilliamsNicholasGaryWilsonRachelMarieZemkeDoctorateNimalaDevkotaLarryHall

The LSU Agricultural Business Club had an active 2008-09 academic year. The Club met twice per month, with meetings focused on planning for activi-ties such as social events and field trips, as well as providing a forum for hearing from speakers such as Chancellor Michael Martin. The major fall social event was the progressive dinner, hosted by Drs. Westra, Gillespie and Cramer. More than 20 students attended. Highlights of the spring semester included fundraising for the end-of-year trip, a field trip to a crawfish farm in southwestern Louisiana and the annual end-of-year trip. Ten students, all seniors, participated in the end-of-the-year six day trip to California. The students visited various agricultural busi-nesses and government institutions such as the University of California, Davis, Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics; the California Department of Food and Agriculture; and the California Rice Cooperative. Students also took agricultural production tours in which they learned about vegetable production and viticulture in California. The photo at left shows club members in front of the California Department of Food and Agriculture.


Transitions

LSU AgCenter StoreThe LSU AgCenter has a num-

ber of research-based publications available for sale. To see what is available, please visit the store online at: https://store.lsuagcenter.com.

Dr. Krishna Paudel is on sabbati-cal leave at Vanderbilt University July 1, 2009 through December 31, 2009. While on sabbatical he is working on econometric methods used in environ-mental economics. Dr. Paudel is also writing papers on several environmen-tal economics topics including water quality, water quantity, invasive species and biofuels.

Dr. Tao Ran earned a Ph.D. in agricultural economics and a master’s in applied statistics from LSU. Her research interests are resource eco-nomics, environmental economics and applied econometrics. She is currently employed as a postdoctoral researcher by the Department of Agricultural Eco-nomics and Agribusiness at LSU under the direction of Dr. Rex Caffey.

affected during the ginning season in addition to employing seasonal labor. Further, an additional $16 million was added in indirect or multiplier effects to the Louisiana economy from cotton ginning in 2007. These included the ef-fects of retail establishments spending to replenish their inventories and ser-vice contractors paying the salaries and wages of their employees. Likewise, the $48 million in total spending ef-fects generated more than $24 million in value-added effects and $14 million in labor incomes earned because of cotton ginning.

Economic Impact of Cotton Ginning(continued from page 1)

donations. For secure online donations to the LSU Foundation, go to: http://www.lsufoundation.org/. Select the giving tab and click on online giving. You will be asked to supply your credit card information and designate the fund to receive the contribution. To make a contribution to the departmental develop-ment fund, select for the benefit of a school or department and then give the departmental name in the next box. For donations to scholarships or professor-ships, select the appropriate category and then name the professorship or schol-arship in the next box. A listing of the professorships and scholarships is shown on the enclosed envelope.

Donations may also be made to our scholarships with the LSU Alumni As-sociation. For these donations, go to the alumni Web site: http://www.lsualumni.org and select contribute. This takes you to the online donation page where you fill in the required information. You designate the particular scholarship in the comments section. Simply indicate the name of the alumni scholarship from the list on the enclosed envelope.

Helping Ensure Excellence in the Department of Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness(continued from page 8)

Dr. Matthew Freeman earned a Ph.D. in environmental and natural resource economics from the Univer-sity of Rhode Island and a BSES in environmental economics and manage-ment from the University of Georgia. A native of coastal South Carolina, his research focuses on fisheries, regula-tory policy and other coastal issues. He received a NOAA/Sea Grant Joint Fellowship for his dissertation work in fishery economics and experimental economics. He is currently employed as a postdoctoral researcher by the department under the direction of Dr. Rex Caffey.

Fenn Retires After 36 Years

Pamela D. Fenn, long-time admin-istrative staff member, retired after 36 years of service to the department. Pam began her career in 1973 as a secretary to two faculty members in the depart-ment. She continued in this role until 1981 when she trans-ferred to the main office and assumed responsibilities related to departmental budget and personnel matters. Pam continued in that role until her retirement at the end of July 2009. Her contributions to the depart-ment are very much appreciated and she will be missed.

Debra Boudreaux joined the staff during the past year to assume the re-sponsibilities Pam formerly handled.


The department enjoys excellent support for its core research and exten-sion programs through the LSU AgCenter. The College of Agriculture sup-ports the teaching program through faculty salaries, graduate stipends and other support. Although this support is critical to developing and maintaining extension, research and teaching programs, the level of support is often not sufficient to provide the extra resources to move these programs to the next level. Private financial support from our alumni and friends is becoming a more important source of revenue to enhance existing programs and begin new initiatives in the department. LSU is nearing the end of the “Forever LSU” campaign and your continued support of departmental programs is part of that campaign.

Your contributions support the teaching, research and extension pro-grams of the department. The support is in the form of student scholarships, faculty development and enhanced educational experiences through the lec-ture series. An envelope is included in this newsletter for your convenience should you choose to support these activities. You may use your credit card either online or by mail. The department has accounts with both the LSU Alumni Association and the LSU Foundation, and both accept credit-card

Helping Ensure Excellence in the Department of Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness

(Continued on page 7)

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Baton Rouge, LA

LSU AgCenter and LSUDepartment of Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness101 Agricultural Administration Building Baton Rouge, LA 70803

Department of Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness

101 Agricultural Administration Bldg.Baton Rouge, LA 70803

Tel 225-578-3282Fax 225-578-2716

www.lsuagcenter.comor

www.agecon.lsu.edu

LSU AgCenterWilliam B. Richardson, Chancellor

David J. Boethel, Vice Chancellor and Director of ResearchPaul D. Coreil, Vice Chancellor and Director of Extension

Louisiana State University Michael Martin, ChancellorCollege of Agriculture Kenneth L. Koonce, Dean

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