11/12/98

Contacts:
Bruce Babcock, Center for Agricultural and Rural Development, (515) 294-5764
Judith Pim, Center for Agricultural and Rural Development, (515) 294-6723
Brian Meyer, Agriculture Information, (515) 294-0706

ISU ECONOMIST CHOSEN TO LEAD CENTER FOR AG AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT

AMES -- An Iowa State University agricultural economist has been named director of ISU's Center for Agricultural and Rural Development (CARD).

Bruce Babcock, a professor in the economics department, fills the position that was held by Stanley Johnson, who in 1996 was named ISU's vice provost for extension. For the past two years, William Meyers, CARD's associate director, has served as interim director. Meyers will return to teaching and conducting research in the economics department.

Babcock has been an ISU faculty member since 1990. Prior to coming to ISU, he was on the economics faculty at North Carolina State Univeristy. He conducts research in agricultural and environmental policy, agricultural insurance, and risk management for marketing and production decisions.

Babcock has headed CARD's Resource and Environmental Policy Division, which assesses regional, national and international policies affecting the environment. He led the development of the Resource and Agricultural Policy System, a model that assesses trends in crop and livestock production and how they may affect the environment.

Babcock teaches graduate and undergraduate courses in economics, agricultural policy and agribusiness management. He also has been the leader of an ISU interdisciplinary research team addressing animal waste and odor management issues.

CARD observed its 40th year in 1998. The center is the largest university-based agricultural policy research institute in the United States. It conducts research on resource and environmental policy, agricultural trade policy, food and nutrition policy, and rural and economic development policy.

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