The Council on Food, Agricultural and Resource Economics, also known as C-FARE, and the National Association of Agricultural Economics Administrators, or NAAEA, recently recognized U.S. Congressman Mike Conaway, chairman of the House Committee on Agriculture, with the 2018 Friend of Agricultural Economics Award.

The award was given in appreciation for economic analysis and awareness of the role of economics in developing and implementing sound agricultural, food and natural resource policy. 

Dr. Parr Rosson, head of the Texas A&M University department of agricultural economics in College Station, NAAEA member and C-FARE board member, nominated Conaway on behalf of the Texas A&M University System.

“Careful analysis that summarizes positive and negative outcomes is the crux of great policy,” Rosson said. “We at Texas A&M and at C-FARE appreciate your personal engagement with the profession so that we can provide the best possible alternatives and their consequences for consideration as policy.”

“Chairman Conaway values the critical role of agricultural economics and supports scientific research to advance agriculture in Texas and the nation” said John Sharp, chancellor of the Texas A&M University System. “He is highly deserving of this award.”

The Friend of Agricultural Economics Award is presented biennially to members of Congress for their support of agricultural economics research, extension, education and service. Award recipients are nominated by departments of agricultural economics from across the country and voted on by leaders of the profession.

The C-FARE chair, Dr. Spiro Stefanou of the University of Florida’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences and chair of the Food and Resource Economics Department, said he lauded Conaway’s “appreciation of the application of economics to policy issues.”

Said Chairman Conaway, “You can’t develop sound farm policy without first estimating its economic impact. C-FARE, along with the Agricultural & Food Policy Center at Texas A&M and the Food & Agricultural Policy Research Institute at the University of Missouri, has proven time and again to be an important source of sound, unbiased economic analysis. I am grateful for their support and am honored to receive this award. I look forward to continuing to work together to develop agricultural policy that benefits American farmers and ranchers while continuing to provide a safe, abundant and affordable food supply for consumers.”

In the past, the award has honored Chairman Pat Roberts, 2015;Representative Greg Walden, 2013; Senators Debbie Stabenow and Roy Blunt, 2011; Representative Chet Edwards, 2009; Representative Frank Lucas, 2007; Representatives Adam Putnam and Rosa DeLauro, 2005; and Senator Thad Cochran, 2003.

Source: Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service | Texas A&M AgriLife Research