Recent Events

Jay Lillywhite receives CAHE Distinguished Teaching Award

Jay Lillywhite received the Distinguished Teaching Award from the College of Agriculture and Home Economics. Dean Lowell Catlett presented Dr. Lillywhite with the award during the 2008 CAHE Annual Awards Day Ceremony held Friday, April 25th at the NMSU Golf Clubhouse.

We are proud to have Dr. Lillywhite in the Department of Agricultural Economics and Agricultural Business.

Ag Econ leads $20 million Afghanistan project

$20 million grant hopes to help Afghanistan restore its water, agriculture infrastructure

A $20 million grant has been awarded to New Mexico State University and other university partners to research and develop the best means to restore Afghanistan's war-torn water systems so it can sustain an agriculture economy.

AWATT, or Afghanistan Water, Agriculture and Technology Transfer, is a three-year project that will involve a consortium of universities in the United States as well as universities and ministries in Afghanistan.

NMSU's College of Agriculture and Home Economics will lead the project along with Colorado State University, University of Illinois and Southern Illinois University researchers.

"The nature of this project is identifying issues, information and making policy recommendations for changes as well as demonstrating and building up institutional capacities. The whole thrust of the project implies that there will need to be a follow-up," said Terry L. Crawford, professor in the Department of Agricultural Economics and Agricultural Business at NMSU.

The seemingly daunting task will have to deal with many factors affecting Afghanistan today, such as the political atmosphere and the long-established tribal and cultural mores. The country's many years of turmoil have left much of its infrastructure in shambles and transformed Afghanistan into a country with few economy-stimulating choices.

"Afghanistan is a country that has been ravaged by war for at least 30 years. This country has been in turmoil for a long period of time as the communists took over and then the Russians and then our differences with them as they sheltered al-Qaida. As a result of these internal and external warring parties, much of the country's infrastructure has been destroyed, including water facilities and processing plants for their products. In a nutshell, their economy has been in a shamble," Crawford said.

AWATT is specifically designed to develop a water-management plan, best use of technologies for water management and the steps to use the technologies to increase the agricultural potential for the area. The project will also develop a structure for agriculture research systems and recommend policy reforms that will provide the mechanisms for security in land tenure and ownership.

Other factors researchers will have to surmount are getting the Afghan people, faculty and government officials to buy into the project's goals. For example, many faculty members moonlight to make ends meet. They teach and leave for other jobs, Crawford explained.

"My experience in Iraq, Jordan and other countries is that there are a majority of the universities' faculty who are demoralized. They teach their class and do something else. But there is a core of people that are really committed to a cause and they are trying to work hard and do have a perspective on research. They see how research has an impact in helping the people and their communities. The challenge will be to identify these individuals," said Octavio Ramirez, professor and head of the department of Agriculture Economics and Agricultural Business and Extension Economics at NMSU.

And if working in a dangerous, war-torn country was not enough, another of the biggest challenges facing researchers who will be based in Afghanistan will be in involving the women of the country. The grant hopes to incorporate all walks of Afghan life to provide the most thorough picture of their needs. But the cultural customs in an Islamic world makes it difficult to approach women without the permission of the male influence, Crawford said.

Despite the challenges, some of the research has already been done since much of Afghanistan's terrain is so similar to the area around Las Cruces, Crawford said. The consortium will be drawing from many of the water and agricultural research projects that have been done in the area and hopes to use this knowledge and apply it to some of the situations in Afghanistan, Crawford and Ramirez said.

The $20 million grant is sponsored by the United States Aid for International Development, an arm of the U.S. State Department, Crawford said.

Mario A. Montes

March 20, 2009

University Communications

Ereney Hadjigeorgalis receives AAAS fellowship.

Ereney Hadjigeorgalis, Ph.D, has been selected as a finalist for an American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)Science and Technology Policy Fellowship for 2008-2009.

The fellowships are designed to provide scientific expertise and analysis to support federal decision-makers confronting complex scientific and technical issues that affect public policy.

Brian Hurd to serve on UCOWR board.

Brian Hurd, Ph.D., has been elected by the delegates and members to serve for a three year term on the Board of Directors fo the Universities Council on Water Resources (UCOWR).

UCOWR is a national organization that leads in education, research, and public service in water resources.

New study finds climate change to reduce New Mexico's supply water, costly impacts foreseen for state's economy and agriculture.

Researchers at New Mexico State University and the University of New Mexico today released a new study finding climate change will result in decreased water availability in New Mexico's Rio Grande Basin, cutting the state's water supply and hurting its economy and agriculture.

The two researchers, NMSU Agricultural Economics Professor Brian Hurd and UNM Civil Engineering Professor Julie Coonrod, note a wide range of climate models predict warmer weather and a change in precipitation patterns in New Mexico, changes the new study finds will lead to a decrease in water supply ranging from a few percent to one-third in the Rio Grande Basin. Such water supply reductions will have a significant impact on New Mexico's economy. The study used a middle scenario of greenhouse gas emissions growth over the 21st century and examined a wide range of potential changes in temperature and precipitation.

"Direct and indirect economic losses are projected to range from $13 million to $115 million by 2030 in the state of New Mexico, and from $21 million to over $300 million by 2080," said Hurd, who has studied climate change and its economic effects for more than a decade."Traditional agricultural systems and rural communities are most at risk, and may need transitional assistance."

Much of New Mexico's surface water comes from snow melt high in the mountains. Warmer temperatures could create a shift in precipitation patterns, leading to more rain and less snow. That would mean less water stored as snow pack and available after snow melt for rivers and reservoirs, especially during the peak irrigation season in late summer.

Additionally, warmer temperatures translate to earlier seasonal snow melts. That means the water that makes it to the reservoir has more time to evaporate before it is released to agriculture downstream.

"Purely economic figures don't tell the whole story," said Hurd. "Unfortunately, what we leave out of our analysis might ultimately prove more valuable to our environment, our identity, and to the character of New Mexico."

Hurd and Coonrod say water supply losses will not only shrink crop acreage and production but could irreversibly alter New Mexico's landscape and rural character.

"Irrigated lands support more than crops," Hurd said. "They provide habitat for wildlife, open space and scenic vistas for the backdrop to New Mexico's thriving art, tourist and recreation economies." In addition, the researchers warn of the effects warming and drying would have on New Mexico's forests, rangelands and water quality, including heightened frequency and severity of wildfires, reduced forage for both livestock and wildlife and reduced water quality.

With decreases in available surface water coupled with rising urban populations, Hurd believes pressure to buy water from farmers will intensify. "Water prices will inevitably rise and farmers will find it more lucrative to lease or sell their water than to farm." He also believes clarifying water rights and improved measurement will allow farmers to more profitably manage their water, leading to greater efficiency and mitigation of some of the farm-level economic losses.

"This is something that has already been happening in the state," Hurd said. "Climate change will only hasten water transfers."

Hurd and Coonrod say with more people and less water in New Mexico's future, the patterns of water use will either have to be reorganized, or the state risks significant disruption in the services provided by water resources.

The study is available online at: http://agecon.nmsu.edu/bhurd

Justin Bannister
Oct. 23, 2007
University Communications

MBA degree with a specialization in agribusiness now available at NMSU

In an effort to meet the demands of today's agricultural industry, New Mexico State University has developed a new graduate-level program that will train future mid- and upper-level executives for the food and fiber industry.

NMSU's College of Business Administration and Economics and College of Agriculture and Home Economics partnered to create a Master of Business Administration (MBA) program with a specialization in agribusiness.

"What we have created is a unique program that meets the demands of the industry and students, and the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB International) accreditation requirements," said Wayne Headrick, director of NMSU's MBA Program. "It will provide a new graduate-level educational opportunity and open access to an additional pool of quality jobs for our students."

Headrick said the program includes five agribusiness courses (15 credit hours) and seven core courses (21 credit hours) from the "general" MBA program.

"Students in the agribusiness specialization will be getting the same business background as other MBA students," he said. "They will acquire the same analytical, communication and presentations skills, but they will get to apply them in the context of agribusiness."

Organizers said there are a few universities that offer similar specializations within their MBA programs in the Midwest and a few throughout the West, but, to their knowledge, there are no such programs in the Southwest.

"Graduates of the program will be getting the kind of credentials that they need to be successful executives in the agribusiness sector." Headrick said.

Octavio A. Ramirez, professor and department head of Agricultural Economics and Agricultural Business and Extension Economics at NMSU, said businesses in the agricultural, food and fiber industry seek people who have the qualifications of an MBA but also substantial background, knowledge and expertise in the agriculture sector.

"This program takes the extra steps to ensure that its graduates satisfy all of the requirements needed to earn an MBA degree that is fully accredited, while providing them with specialized advanced training in agribusiness management, agribusiness marketing, international agricultural trade and policy, agricultural commodity and future markets, and other key aspects related to agricultural, food and fiber business administration," Ramirez said.

Ramirez said the food and fiber industry employs about 17 percent of the labor force in the United States and other industrialized countries, and more than 25 percent worldwide. He added that some major agribusiness corporations such as Archer Daniels Midland, Cargill, ConAgra Foods, Pioneer-Dupont, Nestle and Kraft Foods provide excellent career opportunities in marketing, management and administration for MBA graduates. Graduates from a program like this can also seek careers in the public sector with agencies such as the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the Environmental Protection Agency and the Bureau of Land Management.

Students in the program also will have the opportunity to participate in scholarly projects addressing agribusiness issues under the direction of experts in the field, Ramirez said.