Agricultural Economics Department Extension CENTERS

The Department of Agricultural Economics is home to ten research centers each with a focus on different aspects of the agricultural economy and include: 

  • Center for Commercial Agriculture
  • Center for Food & Agricultural Business
  • Center for Food Demand Analysis & Sustainability
  • Center for Global Trade Analysis
  • Digital Innovation in Agri-Food Systems Laboratory
  • Indiana Council for Economic Education
  • North Central Regional Center for Rural Development
  • Purdue Center for Regional Development
  • Purdue Institute for Family Business
  • State Utility Forecasting Group

Below is a listing of our centers and a brief overview of their Extension efforts. To learn more about each center, visit their respective websites (links included below):

Purdue’s Center for Commercial Agriculture is a leading source of knowledge generation and management education for commercial farmers. The Center works with both farmer and industry advisory councils, as well as research partnerships, to better understand the challenges farmers are facing which, in turn, helps Center faculty develop the educational resources and information farmers need in a timely manner. The Center’s faculty have expertise in risk management, farmland valuation, agricultural finance, strategic management, crop insurance and agricultural policy. The Center for Commercial Agriculture offers the following Extension programing:

  • Webinars/YouTube Videos – The Center offers several free webinars throughout the year focusing on topics that include agricultural outlook, risk management, farmland values, and more. Webinars are always recorded and available for viewing later on the Center’s YouTube channel.
  • Podcast – Purdue Commercial AgCast, the Center’s weekly podcast, brings farm management news and advice in a convenient, take-along, on-the-go package – Find it by searching for Purdue Commercial AgCast wherever you access podcasts.
  • Top Farmer Conference – Purdue’s Top Farmer Conference is one of the most successful and longest-running management programs geared specifically for farmers. Each year, the conference addresses timely marketing, financial and production-oriented topics to farm decision makers.
  • Farm Management Tour – The Purdue Farm Management Tour provides an early summer tour of innovative Indiana farms. Host farmers share keys to their farms’ success and explain how their operation’s management is changing in response to the ever-evolving agricultural economy.
  • Local Workshops – Each winter, the Center offers workshops around the state on key management topics. Workshops in the past have focused on crop marketing and farm finances and Farm Bill decision making.
  • Farm Business Internship – The Center coordinates an on-farm internship program that pairs student interns with host farming operations. The interns gain on-farm business experience on progressive commercial farming operations and host farms gain a Purdue Agriculture student eager to learn about production agriculture. The internship program provides host farms the opportunity to help mentor agriculture’s next generation of leaders.
  • Resource Library – Faculty and staff from the Center conduct applied research on emerging management topics. Find articles, presentations, series, tools and other resources at the Center’s website (https://purdue.edu/commercialag).
  • Managing Farm Risk – A partnership between the Center, the Indiana Soybean Alliance and the Indiana Corn Marketing Council, the farm risk management website offers information and tools to help producers better understand risk and develop an integrated approach to managing risk. Case studies and videos provide farmers insight into ways they can improve their farm’s risk management.
  • Crop Basis Tool – The Purdue Center for Commercial Agriculture Crop Basis Tool is a web-based tool (https:purdue.edu/cropbudget) that provides access to weekly historical and contemporaneous corn and soybean basis data regionalized by crop reporting district for Indiana, Illinois, Michigan and Ohio.
  • Ag Economy Barometer – The Purdue/CME Group Ag Economy Barometer provides a nationwide measure of farmers’ perspective on the health of the U.S. agricultural economy. The ag barometer is based on results from a monthly survey of 400 agricultural producers from across the nation. The ag barometer is designed to create a new and important tool for producers, economists, traders, finance industry professionals and journalists interested in understanding the agricultural industry from producers’ perspective.

The Purdue University Center for Food and Agricultural Business is housed within Purdue’s Department of Agricultural Economics. Committed to being the agribusiness industry’s partner of choice for navigating the complex agri-food system, the Center designs and delivers educational resources over various business topics tailored to food and agribusiness. These resources are distributed through three key initiatives: professional development programs and workshops; an MS-MBA in Food and Agribusiness Management program, a dual-degree program partnership with the Indiana University Kelley School of Business; and applied agribusiness research. All Center programming combines applied research with real-world application.

The Center for Food and Agricultural Business supports Purdue University’s mission by helping people in the food and agribusiness industries improve their management competencies to take on the challenges and opportunities of a dynamic and complex agri-food system. We provide innovative and relevant professional development experiences, advanced degree programs and applied research to the industry. We ensure utmost relevance through deep linkages with industry, a world-class faculty, and a professional staff with unmatched research, design, development and delivery capabilities.

The Center for Food Demand Analysis and Sustainability (CFDAS) at Purdue tracks consumer insights and the economics of the food system. Timely reports on trends and emerging topics can guide research on nutrition and plant innovations, and reveal how policy impacts food markets.

These insights will not only help consumers make more informed decisions but also help farmers, agribusinesses and policy makers improve the food system.

The Global Trade Analysis Project is coordinated by the Center for Global Trade Analysis, which was founded in 1992 by Professor Thomas W. Hertel and is housed in the Department of Agricultural Economics at Purdue University. The Center employs staff members and a team of graduate assistants, which are Ph.D. candidates in either the Economics or Agricultural Economics programs. In addition to the staff, GTAP relies heavily on a worldwide network of CGE modelers and trade economists. These collaborators provide data and modeling expertise to help foster the Center's mission of providing leadership in economic policy analysis by fostering collaboration to achieve better data and research outcomes.

Agri-food systems are large and complex with many actors – from the type of food we eat to the way it’s produced, transported, and delivered.

Consumers increasingly want to know more about the food they eat and the products they buy, but in order to provide a more transparent, safe, and sustainable food supply, we must improve connectivity and strengthen our food and agriculture systems.

The Digital Innovation in Agri-Food Systems Laboratory (DIAL) is rethinking the agri-food sector by creating connections across fragmented ecosystems to deliver digital innovation and new businesses that meet specific industry needs, and in turn, provides consumers with access to healthy, affordable, sustainable, and transparent food.

We develop entrepreneurs and ideas to create and fund high-value startup companies for the agri-food industry.

The Indiana Council for Economic Education (ICEE) is the PK-12 academic outreach center for the Department of Agricultural Economics at Purdue University. The ICEE was established in 1954 and has a national reputation for excellence and leadership in economic education. ICEE is affiliated with the National Council for Economic Education.

North Central Regional Center for Rural Development (NCRCRD) - Building Rural Communities Through Cutting-Edge Research and Extension Programs and Innovative Partnerships.

For almost 50 years, the NCRCRD, funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture and the land-grant universities in the 12-state region, has addressed issues critical to the growth and impact of rural communities. NCRCRD works to establish collaborative working relationships across the region to address emerging and continuing issues of interest to rural communities and is part of a group of four centers that together cover the entire United States. The four centers work collaboratively on issues that cross regional boundaries. NCRCRD’s works focus on three interconnected systems: communities, businesses, and households and three major themes:

The NCRCRD periodically sponsors or facilitates webinars to help connect rural development researchers and Extension professionals with each other and with stakeholder groups. The NCRCRD-sponsored webinars are free. All webinars are scheduled for Eastern Time.

The Purdue Center for Regional Development (PCRD) seeks to pioneer new ideas and strategies that contribute to regional collaboration, innovation and prosperity. Founded in 2005, the Center partners with public, private, nonprofit and philanthropic organizations to identify and enhance the key drivers of innovation in regions across Indiana, the U.S. and beyond. These drivers include a vibrant and inclusive civic leadership, a commitment to collaboration, and the application of advanced data support systems to promote sound decision-making and the pursuit of economic development investments that build on the competitive assets of regions.

The Purdue Institute for Family Business (PIFB) is an integrated research, outreach, and teaching program. It offers educational programs that address the major competencies needed for effective family business ownership and management. PIFB’s aim is to enhance the knowledge of family business owners, successors, employees, advisors, and educators to improve family functioning and business success. PIFB provides multi-generational family businesses with research-based business management resources aimed at improving personal leadership performance and driving operational growth. PIFB's Extension Programs include: 

  • Purdue Extension Farm Succession Planning Team: The Purdue Succession Planning Team, comprised of Extension Educators and Specialists, was formed in 2011 to address the needs of families planning the continuation of farm businesses. The team mission is to cultivate strong Indiana farm families through the succession planning process by providing educational opportunities and current resources.
  • Purdue INventure Business Planner: This web site will help you write a business plan using a question-and-answer format.
  • TKI Conflict Mode Instrument Training: Maria Marshall and Renee Wiatt are certified in conflict resolution with the Thomas-Kilmann Instrument (TKI), which allows them to provide training and guidance on the use of conflict management styles, ultimately leading to better conflict management and resolution.

The State Utility Forecasting Group (SUFG) has been assisting the State of Indiana for over 30 years through its forecasts of electricity consumption, prices, and resource requirements. SUFG also performs analyses of a number of issues facing the energy industries.