Nicole Pierron-Rasul

Focus Areas: 
  1. image of flag, money and 2016 election

    Voters Invited: Ohio State Economists Discuss Presidential Election Oct. 3

    COLUMBUS, Ohio — There has been considerable rhetoric around key issues in the upcoming presidential election, but much less analysis of their potential economic impact.   Several economists from The Ohio State University’s College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences hope to offer voters deeper insight into some of these issues during an Oct. 3 evening conversation, providing a critical, unbiased, non-partisan economic examination of key themes in this year’s debate. “As applied economists, our faculty are trained to look at all sides of an issue and draw informed conclusions based on sound economic reasoning,” said Tim Haab, professor and chair of Ohio State’s Department of Agricultural, Environmental and Development Economics....
  2. Photo: Thinkstock

    The National and Local Grain Markets: Views from an Expert at Farm Science Review

    LONDON, Ohio – Based on early harvest data, Ohio is on track to have a mediocre, at best, grain crop this year, while Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska and South Dakota are all forecast to have record grain yields, according to a grain market expert from The Ohio State University. Matt Roberts, an agricultural economist in the College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences, will offer his 2016 grain market update Sept. 20-21 during Farm Science Review. The annual farm trade show is Sept. 20-22 at the Molly Caren Agricultural Center near London, Ohio. Roberts said information from early harvests has begun to be compiled, including important data on what is happening at the state level.    “At Farm Science Review, we typically review national and...
  3. food waste in trash can

    Aug. 26 Conference to Help Consumers, Communities Reduce Food Waste; Attend In Person or Online

    COLUMBUS, Ohio — In 2015, the Obama administration announced the nation’s first food waste reduction goal by calling for a 50 percent reduction in waste by the year 2030. With current estimates that 40 percent of U.S. food, worth $165 billion dollars a year, is thrown away, reaching this ambitious target will require a concerted effort, said Brian Roe, the McCormick Professor of Agricultural Marketing and Policy in the College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences at The Ohio State University. “Reducing food waste is a triple win,” Roe said. “We can improve the environment by reducing and diverting food waste from landfills. We can save households and municipalities money by not having to put waste into a landfill. And, these actions will make...
  4. Ohio State Seeks Participants for Study on Consumer Eating Habits, Free Lunch Included

    COLUMBUS, Ohio — With today’s varied food and beverage marketplace, recent research shows that Americans are altering their diets at increasing rates, causing food and beverage companies to try to keep pace. “While we all know the saying, ‘We are what we eat,’ it is also important to link our own eating and food handling decisions with issues being faced by society today,” said Brian Roe, a professor of agricultural economics in the College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences at The Ohio State University. Roe and his colleagues are seeking participants to travel to Ohio State’s Columbus campus to engage in a 15-minute study on consumer eating habits and food handling behavior. Participants, who must be at least 18 years old, will...
  5. Ohio State to Host Workshop for Businesses on Measuring Sustainability

    COLUMBUS, Ohio — How does your business or organization measure and account for sustainability? Faculty in the College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences at The Ohio State University would like to help your organization learn to better implement, measure and evaluate sustainability efforts at a workshop on May 19 at Ohio State’s Nationwide and Ohio Farm Bureau 4-H Center. “We hope participants will leave the workshop with knowledge of the critical ecosystem services affected by business decisions and supply chain management and have an understanding of emerging tools that businesses can use to analyze their sustainability efforts,” said Brent Sohngen, the lead organizer of the workshop, director of Ohio State’s Environmental Policy Initiative...
  6. Photo: Thinkstock

    Ohio State Seeks Participants for Ohio Farm Custom Work Rate Survey

    COLUMBUS, Ohio – Agricultural economists from the College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences at The Ohio State University want to know how much Ohio growers engage farm workers and machinery operators as part of the college’s 2016 Ohio Farm Custom Rate Survey. The survey is conducted biannually by Barry Ward, production business management leader for Ohio State University Extension, as a means of gauging farm work completed by others, which is often referred to as “custom farm work” or “custom work,” he said. The survey is targeted at both those who hire custom farm work and those who perform the work, Ward said. “Custom farming providers are often engaged due to a farm business owner’s lack of proper equipment, lack...
  7. Photo: Thinkstock

    U.S. Facing an Aging Farm Population and Lower Entry Rates for Beginning Farmers

    COLUMBUS, Ohio – An aging American farm population, the need to successfully transition land ownership from senior farmers to new industry entrants, and providing support and training for these beginning farmers, are top concerns for the future of the American farming industry, said an agricultural economist in the College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences at The Ohio State University. “Farm transitions have been identified as one of the major upcoming structural changes in agriculture that concerns policy makers,” said Ani Katchova, chair of Ohio State’s Farm Income Enhancement Program. She also holds appointments with Ohio State University Extension and the Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center, the statewide outreach and research...
  8. OSU Economist: 2016 Economic Forecast Looks Good Despite Risks

    COLUMBUS, Ohio – The 2016 economic outlook looks good, says an expert in the College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences at The Ohio State University. “We are entering our 79th month of economic expansion in the U.S., which is the fifth longest period on record,” said Mark Partridge, the C. William Swank Chair in Rural-Urban Policy in the college. “I remain optimistic on national growth. “Back to back, 2015 and 2016 look to be the best years of the 21st century yet.” Partridge, who specializes in analyzing regional growth patterns, spoke Dec. 7 at the kickoff to the college’s 2015-2016 Agricultural Policy and Outlook series, which is a series of local meetings held statewide through January. Dates and times for the meetings, along...
  9. According to the USDA, TPP will affect several U.S. agricultural exports to Japan, including beef, pork, dairy products, wheat and rice. Photo: Thinkstock

    OSU Economist: The Trans-Pacific Partnership Will Benefit the U.S. Agriculture Sector

    COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) could significantly boost the export market potential for American farmers, as well as other sectors of the U.S. economy, says an economist with the College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences at The Ohio State University. “TPP is important as it is the largest regional free trade agreement that has been struck in the past two decades,” said Ian Sheldon, the Andersons Professor of International Trade in the college’s Department of Agricultural, Environmental, and Development Economics (AEDE). After seven years of negotiations, agreement on TPP was reached in early October by the partnership’s 12 signatory countries: Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru...
  10. Photo: Thinkstock

    2015-2016 Agricultural Policy and Outlook Series Kicks Off on Dec. 7

    COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Ohio and U.S. economies are poised for continued prosperity in 2016 although growth may be slower than recent years due to uncertainties in the national and international markets, an economist with the College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences at The Ohio State University said. “I remain optimistic on national growth,” said Mark Partridge, a professor in the college’s Department of Agricultural, Environmental, and Development Economics (AEDE) and chair of Ohio State’s C. William Swank Program in Rural-Urban Policy. Partridge will speak Dec. 7 during the college’s kickoff of its 2015-2016 Agricultural Policy and Outlook series. The event initiates a series of local meetings to be held statewide.    The...
  11. Ian Sheldon. Photo: CFAES

    International Economist: Trans-Pacific Partnership Would Boost U.S Agriculture

    COLUMBUS, Ohio -- After seven years of negotiations, 12 nations agreed to terms of the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement in early October. While each country now needs to ratify the agreement for it to be put into effect, an international trade expert at The Ohio State University said the TPP could significantly boost the market potential for American farmers, entrepreneurs and other small-business owners. “TPP is the largest regional free trade agreement that has been struck in the past two decades,” said Ian Sheldon, Ohio State’s Andersons Professor of International Trade and an economist in the College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences. Sheldon will present on the TPP agreement at the Agricultural Policy and Outlook Conference Series...
  12. Photo: Thinkstock.

    Panel Discussion at Farm Science Review to Focus on Water Quality

    COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Water quality will be the focus of a Sept. 22 panel presentation of economists and researchers with the College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences at The Ohio State University, who will discuss programs and practices designed to lessen the potential of farm runoff into region’s waterways. The “Water Quality, Water Quantity, Water Questions 2015,” session is from 10-11 a.m. in the Tobin Building during the annual Farm Science Review Sept. 22-24 at the Molly Caren Agricultural Center in London, Ohio. The discussion will be moderated by Matthew Roberts, an Ohio State University Extension economist and faculty member in the college’s Department of Agricultural, Environmental, and Development Economics. A goal of the discussion,...
  13. Photo: Thinkstock

    Farm Bill Crop Safety Net Enrollment Deadlines Approaching

    COLUMBUS, Ohio -- With deadlines set for enrollment in the 2014 farm bill’s crop programs in February and March, farmers have only a few weeks left to make decisions about key farm safety net decisions, said a farm policy expert in the College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences at The Ohio State University. These decisions are significant considering that enrollment in the farm bill’s crop programs will last through the life of the legislation, which will expire after the 2018 crop year, said Carl Zulauf, an agricultural economist with the college. The farm bill’s crop program enrollment includes the following deadlines: Feb. 27 is the last day to update yield history or allocate base acres. Mar. 31 is the last day to enroll in one of the three new...
  14. Buckeye Love Finds Fertile Ground in CFAES

    Faculty couples talk about the benefits and pitfalls of working together COLUMBUS, Ohio — It’s not unusual for true love to blossom among the books on a college campus.  At least, that was the case for several faculty couples who share how #BuckeyeLove is flourishing in the College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences at The Ohio State University. — “Love looks not with the eyes, but with the mind, / And therefore is winged Cupid painted blind.” — William Shakespeare, A Midsummer Night’s Dream When One and One Make One (Couple) Elena Irwin and Brian Roe, for example, are economists in the college’s Department of Agricultural, Environmental, and Development Economics and juggle their home and work...
  15. A satellite image of the Toledo-area algal bloom in Aug. 2014. Photo by NASA.

    Researchers: Toledo Water Crisis Impacted Perceptions of Lake Erie Algae Causes

    COLUMBUS, Ohio – The August 2014 water crisis in Toledo, Ohio, impacted Ohioans’ views of Lake Erie algae problems by increasing the attribution of blame of algae growth on crop and animal agriculture, as well as increasing the levels of reported fear and concern among citizens, said Brian Roe, an economist in Ohio State University’s College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences. Through an initial analysis of survey data gathered before and after the crisis from a sample of Ohioans, Roe seeks to understand if the Toledo water crisis and its media coverage reshaped Ohioans’ views of water quality in Lake Erie, their views on the role of agriculture in impacting the health of the lake and their thoughts on the types of policies needed to stem the...
  16. Ohio State Economist: U.S., Ohio Economies will See Continued But Slow Growth

    COLUMBUS, Ohio – The U.S. and Ohio economies will continue to recover from the Great Recession in 2015 with continued but slow growth, according to an economist with Ohio State University’s College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences. Mark Partridge, a professor who holds the C. William Swank Chair in Rural-Urban Policy in the college’s Department of Agricultural, Environmental, and Development Economics, said overall, 2015 looks to be a relatively good economic year as the U.S. and Ohio economies will continue to grow at reasonable rates. However, “more innovation in policy is needed to shake both from the current path of relatively slow growth becoming the new normal,” he said. Partridge, who specializes in the analysis of regional growth...
  17. Photo: Thinkstock

    Ohio State Agricultural Economist: Feeding the World after 2050

    COLUMBUS, Ohio – By 2050, the world’s population will reach 9 to 9.5 billion, and by the end of the century, the population in Africa is expected to be three times its current level, said Douglas Southgate, a professor in Ohio State University’s College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences.  As a result, food insecurity in Africa will be much more severe than in other parts of the world, Southgate said during the Dec. 1 kickoff of the college’s 2014-2015 Agricultural Policy and Outlook series. The series features presentations by experts from the college’s Department of Agricultural, Environmental, and Development Economics and will be held at numerous locations across Ohio through Jan. 29. Faculty members will focus on key issues in the...
  18. CFAES expert: Milk prices, the global export demand and the 2014 farm bill’s new Margin Protection Program will be the topics to watch in the dairy industry next year. (Photo: Thinkstock)

    OSU Dairy Economist: Milk Prices, Global Export Demand and New Margin Protection Program Will Be Topics to Watch in 2015

    COLUMBUS, Ohio – Milk prices, the global export demand and the 2014 farm bill’s new Margin Protection Program will be the topics to watch in the dairy industry next year, according to a dairy markets and policy specialist with Ohio State University’s College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences. U.S. milk production and dairy exports have increased significantly over the last decade, with an increase in milk production of 34 billion pounds from 2003 to 2014 and a dairy export increase of 25.7 billion pounds, said Cameron Thraen, associate professor in the college’s Department of Agricultural, Environmental and Development Economics (AEDE) and a member of the National Program on Dairy Markets and Policy. He also holds an appointment with Ohio State...
  19. stock image of coal in stocking

    12 Days of Experts: Being Naughty Just Got Cheaper, Thanks to Lower Coal Prices

    COLUMBUS, Ohio – Facing another Christmas with coal-filled stockings hanging above your fireplace? Though a household of naughty children is never a good thing, the good news is that the coal used to fill those stockings should be relatively affordable in 2014. While coal prices have risen slightly in the past year, they are still below historical highs, according to an economist from Ohio State University’s College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences. “The good news is, while the prices of a number of other things have gone up this year, like beef, PlayStation games and college tuition, the price of bad children has not,” said Matt Roberts, a commodities expert in the college’s Department of Agricultural, Environmental, and Development...
  20. CFAES offers new website to help farmers make decisions on the farm bill’s crop program decisions. (Photo: Thinkstock)

    Economist Offers Farm Bill Decision Resources for Making 2014 Crop Program Choices

    COLUMBUS, Ohio – For the first time since the 2005 crop year, the farm bill’s commodity programs have the potential to make significant payments due to low prices and revenue for corn, soybeans and wheat, according to a farm policy expert with Ohio State University’s College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences. While these payments are not a given, if they materialize they could help farmers transition during this period of low crop prices and revenues by the standard of the past eight years, said Carl Zulauf, an agricultural economics professor and farm policy expert in the college. “The potential for payments underscores the importance of the 2014 farm bill crop program decisions,” Zulauf said. Zulauf recently launched a website to help...
  21. Doctoral student Boniface Massawe and soil samples

    Building African Food Security One Student at a Time

    COLUMBUS, Ohio – Since 2011, 20 graduate students from Tanzania have become Buckeyes as part of an extensive effort to provide long-term food security in the East African nation. Through the Innovative Agricultural Research Initiative (iAGRI), led by Ohio State University’s Office of International Programs in Agriculture, a total of 135 Tanzanian graduate students are receiving advanced agricultural training at universities in the United States, Africa and India to build a new generation of Tanzanian agricultural scholars. The initiative is part of the U.S. government’s primary global hunger and food security program, Feed the Future, and is supported by the U.S. Agency for International Development. (See more about iAGRI at go.osu.edu/iagri2014). According to the...
  22. satellite image lake erie 2014

    Sept. 30 Webinar to Examine Economics of Controlling Algal Blooms

    COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Economists will discuss the economics behind water pollution control, particularly regarding harmful algal blooms, in an hourlong webinar on Sept. 30 at noon. “Despite years of efforts to reduce phosphorus, our traditional conservation approaches appear not to be working as well as we wish,” said Brent Sohngen, professor of environmental economics with Ohio State University’s College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences and one of the webinar’s presenters. “It is really useful now for the farm community and our policymakers to at least consider taking stronger steps to limit phosphorus emissions,” Sohngen said. “Our webinar will provide an economic template for doing that.” Sohngen leads the university...
  23. Panel Discussion at Farm Science Review to Focus on New Programs in the Farm Bill

    COLUMBUS, Ohio – As growers consider their options under the new provisions of the 2014 farm bill, economists and policy experts from Ohio State University’s College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences discuss what the changes mean for farmers during this year’s Farm Science Review at the Molly Caren Agricultural Center near London, Ohio. The panel discussion, “Farm Program Choices for the 2014 Farm Bill,” will be moderated by Matthew Roberts, an Ohio State University Extension economist, Sept. 16 from 10-11 a.m. in the Tobin Building at the Review. The discussion will feature Carl Zulauf, an economist in the college’s Department of Agricultural, Environmental, and Development Economics, Barry Ward, production business management leader...
  24. USDA Launches New Dairy Decision Tool that Ohio State Economist Helped Develop

    COLUMBUS, Ohio – A new online tool designed to assist dairy producers in understanding coverage options under the new farm bill was developed in part by a dairy economist with Ohio State University’s College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Farm Service Agency recently announced the launch of the Margin Protection Program (MPP) for dairy producers, which is a voluntary dairy safety net program that replaces the farm bill’s previous milk price and revenue support programs. Cameron Thraen, an associate professor in CFAES’ Department of Agricultural, Environmental and Development Economics (AEDE) and a member of the National Program on Dairy Markets and Policy, recently worked with a team of researchers...
  25. Farm Bill Question and Answer Sessions Scheduled for 2014 Farm Science Review

    COLUMBUS, Ohio -- With the passage of the 2014 farm bill, which authorizes U.S. agricultural and nutrition programs through 2018, major changes are coming to crop safety net programs, said an economist from Ohio State University’s College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences. The new legislation ends direct payment subsidies and requires farmers to choose between three new risk management-oriented programs: the Agriculture Risk Coverage county level (ARC-CO) program, the Agriculture Risk Coverage individual farm program (ARC-IC), and the Price Loss Coverage (PLC) program, said Carl Zulauf, an economist in the college’s Department of Agricultural, Environmental, and Development Economics. The ARC programs replace the Average Crop Revenue Enhancement Program (ACRE...

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