Student News
Raj Shah
 Raj Shah, a fourth year leadership and law major minoring in environmental economics and management and environmental law, is from Lawrenceville, Georgia. He has received the Multicultural Leadership Award, Resident Assistant of the Year Award, Outstanding Senior Leader Award and was a member of the Homecoming Court. He is a member of the Sphinx Club and the Student Leadership Center Advisory Board. Other activities include serving as Collegiate 4-H President, a member of the Alternative Spring Break Executive Board, Indian Cultural Exchange board member, Arch Society secretary, a DAWG Camp counselor, and Visitors Center tour guide.
After graduation, Raj plans on pursuing a joint JD and Ph.D. and work in higher education administration. His favorite professor is Dr. Centner. Raj states, “ Professor Centner’s class was very demanding and forced me to think in a different way. It is because of this class that I want to pursue a law degree.”
Raj’s activities outside of academics include volunteer work with Action Head Start, volunteering with Georgia 4-H, and working with the Indian American Center for Cultural Awareness. In the summer of 2005, he interned with the Peace Corps in Honduras.
In his leisure time, Raj enjoys reading books, watching movies, and traveling. He has made many friends all over the world through his travels.
Alumni News
James A. Duffield
 Dr. James A. Duffield is a Senior Agricultural Economist for the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), Office of Chief Economist. His duties include research, policy analysis, and outreach on issues related to energy and agriculture. Dr. Duffield received the 2004 Twenty-First Century Citizenship Award from USDA’s “You Have the Power Campaign,” Federal Energy Management Program. He has received an annual bonus award for superior performance each year of employment with USDA since 1987. Accomplishments since college graduation include his being named chairman of the National Biodiesel Education Program in 2001; co-editor of CABI Publishing Company’s book titled Agriculture as a Producer and Consumer of Energy, and guest editor of Choices Magazine theme paper articles, “Biofuels: Developing New Energy Sources from Agriculture.”
Dr. Duffield received a B.S. in economics from California State University in 1975, an M.S. in agricultural and resource economics from the University of Nevada in 1978 and a Ph.D. in agricultural economics from the University of Georgia (UGA) in 1987. While a student at UGA, he was the winner of the Rod Ziemer Outstanding Ph.D. Student Paper Award.
Valuable skills acquired during his college years have aided Dr. Duffield in his professional career. He learned how to allocate his time. The concept of opportunity cost taught him how to prioritize. Oral communication skills he acquired in college helped him get his first job at the USDA. He states, “Good communication skills are important for making presentations and interacting with co-workers. Being able to speak clearly and confidently was a major factor in my promotions. My course work in econometrics and economic theory has been very useful in conducting research and staff analysis. Also, writing my dissertation was good training for writing technical reports.”
Dr. Duffield has this advice for current students in the Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics: “Go out of your way to get along with people, even people who can be difficult. Participate in group projects and learn how to work together. Respect other people’s opinions, even if you disagree. There is much to learn from a colleague with a different point of view, so listen carefully to understand where they’re coming from. Learn how to control your emotions when you have a disagreement or when things aren’t going your way. Begin to develop professional relations with your professors and fellow students. Who knows, one of them might turn out to be your boss someday or be in a position to influence your career.”
Dr. Duffield’s life outside of the workplace centers around his family, which includes his wife, Jane, and their sons, James (11 years old) and Joey (8 years old). Both sons are into sports and the family spends a good deal of time at soccer and baseball fields. When they are able to get away, the family visits their farm in Floyd, Virginia. The farm has been in Jane’s family for several generations and is a great place to “sit on the porch in a rocking chair and kickback.”
Faculty News
UGA Expert Helps Market Georgia's Top Business
By Stephanie Schupska, University of Georgia
 John McKissick stands in the middle of Georgia's top industry, watching numbers swirl around in a high rolling agricultural market that doesn't attract much attention.
He and others at the Center for Agribusiness and Economic Development at the University of Georgia help Georgia producers market their products in a sometimes confusing and ever-changing business world.
“Food manufacturing – food and processing – is increasing and is more important to Georgia than any other industry,” said McKissick of the Center for Agribusiness, where he is director. He is also the Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics' Extension program coordinator.
“In order for the farmers to remain competitive, marketing is important for them, marketing has to be emphasized, especially as farmers diversify away from commodity animal and crop products,” said Fred White, head of the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences' department of agricultural and applied economics.
When taken as a whole, agribusiness is the largest single business in the state.
Georgia's agribusinesses topped $10.5 billion in farm gate value in 2005, up from $10.28 billion in 2004.
The 2005 Farm Gate Report, which was filed by McKissick and Center for Agribusiness and Economic Development research coordinator Susan Boatright in May, shows that while Georgia 's agricultural production value continued to expand in 2005, the pace was modest. This was due to balancing declines in poultry, which is the state's largest farm gate enterprise, with gains in such products as vegetables, row crops, fruit and nuts.
“With the growing population we have in Georgia and Florida , we've got good markets for perishable products like fruits and vegetables,” McKissick said, “and turfgrass has gone up in farm gate value.”
The agribusiness center, which is operated through the University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, does more than just study farm related production.
“Now we do a lot more with agribusinesses,” McKissick said. “We work with new, emerging agribusinesses across the state, helping them find markets for their existing or new products.”
The term agribusiness can be confusing. But, according to McKissick, it covers all operations that work to get fiber processed and food to the table.
Recently, the agribusiness center found itself studying milk. A Georgia dairy wanted to determine which product buyers would be willing to pay more for – organic milk or milk from grass-fed cows – in an effort to better market the dairy.
“Consumers were willing to pay more for the pastured product, but they would not pay more for the organic production,” McKissick said. “Milk produced from the pastured cows was seen as ‘happy milk'” from cows peacefully grazing in a pasture. “The organic didn't matter enough that they were willing to pay for it.”
Another study looked at the reasons Georgia is losing dairies. The hope in doing the milk study was to attract big dairies to the state, drawing them in partially because of the high prices of milk on the consumer end, McKissick said.
They've found places in southwest Georgia that would make good potential locations for dairies, areas that don't currently have many animals or people.
“The economic impact of the larger-scale dairies in this area” would be incredible, he said.
It's an impact they're continuing to study and market in agribusinesses ranging from milk to pecans. And it's something that McKissick enjoys doing so much that he recently earned the position of UGA's first distinguished professor of agricultural marketing.
“John has a wealth of knowledge and expertise in ag marketing,” White said. “He has been recognized by the national agricultural economics community. He is a very dedicated and highly energetic professional.”
The professorship, which was established by an initial endowment from the Milton M. Ratner Foundation , was approved by the Board of Regents and goes into effect July 1.
For more information on the Center for Agribusiness and Economic Development, call 706-542-2434 or e-mail caed@agecon.uga.edu
(Stephanie Schupska is a news editor with the University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences.)
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