Paul Mitchell, Director of the Renk Agribusiness Institute; Professor, Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics; Division of Extension State Specialist in Cropping Systems and Environmental Management; and Faculty Affiliate, Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies, received a Vilas Faculty Mid-Career Investigator Award.
This award recognizes research and teaching excellence in faculty who are at mid-career, and provides $75,000 in flexible research funds over three years. The funds can be used for research, publication, project assistantships, or other expenses related to scholarly activity.
Paul’s research focuses broadly on the economics of crop production, pest management, biotechnology, precision agriculture and economics’ of managing small diversified (organic) vegetable farms. His outreach program is focused broadly on crop economics for all Wisconsin farmers, including both commodity crops and specialty crops, from small diversified organic vegetable growers to large-scale commercial farms. Topics include agricultural policy, crop insurance, sustainability, precision agriculture, and pest and resistance management. He annually organizes and hosts numerous outreach programs. Paul teaches AAE 320: Farming Systems Management every year, an undergraduate course on economics of input management, farm finance, taxation, farm business arrangements, federal commodity support, crop insurance and agricultural sustainability. He also helps lead the undergraduate Agricultural Business Management BS program in the department of Agricultural and Applied Economics and mentors graduate students as part of his research program.
Congratulations, Director Mitchell!