Koontz' interests are focused on commercial commodity agricultural markets of significance in Colorado. These industries include cattle and beef, feed grains, wheat, forage and dairy. His research examines market and price analysis tools, forecasting and modeling methods, and linkage of those tools with agribusiness and risk management. His research also includes long-term scholarly interests in industrial organization, econometric methods, and experimental economics. His most recent projects have involved examining the impact of alternative marketing methods used in livestock industries on the performance of cash markets, examining alternative trading and ownership institutions in experimental economic markets, the impact of ethanol demand on corn and other commodity markets, the economic value of sorting fed cattle, and the economics of animal disease control and insurance.