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UF IFAS Food and Resource Economics Department

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UF IFAS Food and Resource Economics Department

The Food and Resource Economics Department is in the UF/IFAS College of Agriculture & Life Sciences All FRED comments are made by FRED designees.

The University of Florida’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) is a federal-state-county partnership dedicated to developing knowledge in agriculture, human and natural resources, and the life sciences, and enhancing and sustaining the quality of human life by making that information accessible. As a department in UF/IFAS and the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences (CALS),

the Food and Resource Economics Department engages in teaching, research, and Extension. Our focus is the acquisition of production inputs such as land and labor to the marketing and consumption of final food products. Our courses explore the business and economics of agriculture, environmental policy, international trade, natural resource management, and human resource management. The University of Florida IFAS Food and Resource Economics Department (FRED) intends to educate, inform and provide updated
information on the Food and Resource Economics Department (FRED) activities and to support and promote the Food and Resource Economics Department's (FRED) objectives for these activities through its social media site. This site is not a public forum. Social media users may share ideas through commentary
that is consistent with and furthers the objectives of a FRED post and the University of Florida IFAS Food and Resource Economics Department (FRED) reserves the right to remove any comments that do not fall within this purpose. By posting a comment on this social media site, users agree to follow the terms of use of the site, Florida and
federal laws and University of Florida regulations and policies, including but not limited to the University’s
Acceptable Use of Computing Resources Policy. The Food and Resource Economics Department reserves the right to remove from the site
any comments that violate these requirements.

09/09/2026

At this year's AAEA - Agricultural & Applied Economics Association annual meeting, FRE Ph.D. students Prabin Adhikari, Yetian Cai, and Chenxi Hu proved that that they not only can analyze data to create relevant insights, but to utilize data visualization as a tool to reveal those actionable insights in a way that is instantaneously understandable to a wide general audience.

The team of three placed second in the Local Food Economics Data Visualization challenge, a highly competitive, national competition hosted in partnership between the AAEA and the USDA-Agricultural Marketing Service.

Advised by Dr. Becca Jablonski from Cornell University, along with Lacy Stephens and Americo Vega Labiosa from the USDA, our students were assigned the vegetables, legumes, and pulses sector, and from there, due to the recent growth in local food sales coming from intermediated channels, decided to examine food hub infrastructure gaps.

Please join us in congratulating these stellar students on their accomplishment, and learn more about their project for the competition in our latest blog post: https://blogs.ifas.ufl.edu/fredept/2026/09/03/uf-food-resource-economics-ph-d-students-place-second-in-local-food-economics-data-visualization-challenge/

09/02/2026

As a social scientist in an organization predominantly composed of the traditional natural scientists, it would have been easy for Food and Resource Economics Professor James Anderson to feel like a small fish in a big pond. Instead, the opportunity for collaboration motivated Dr. Anderson, becoming the driving force behind his pioneering impact on the development of the field of aquaculture economics.

From writing one of the first comprehensive books on international seafood trade to developing the Fishery & Aquaculture Performance Indicators to allow for a standardized, objective method for evaluating our seafood systems, Anderson has spent decades dedicated to providing necessary economic perspectives to understand and improve global aquaculture systems, resulting in his recent recognition as the 2026 World Aquaculture Society (WAS) Fellow.

Please join us in congratulating Dr. Anderson on this well-deserved recognition!

Lead more about the field of aquaculture economics and Dr. Anderson’s journey within it on our department blog: https://blogs.ifas.ufl.edu/fredept/2026/08/25/uf-food-and-resource-economics-professor-james-anderson-named-as-2026-world-aquaculture-society-fellow/

08/27/2026

Week 1 of Class is in the books, and we’re wishing for an amazing semester for all as FRE finishes out our 100th year! 💙🎂🧡

08/26/2026

Seeing our very own Ag. Econ Club recognized with the AAEA creative club award for the second year in a row for their Halloween Walkthrough event was pretty sweet...almost as sweet as the ice cream they'll be serving up today at the meeting of the Fall 2026 semester 🍨

Learn more about the Ag. Econ Club in our latest blog post, or stop by McCarty Hall A 1151 today at 4 p.m. to see for yourself!

https://blogs.ifas.ufl.edu/fredept/2026/08/26/uf-ag-econ-club-wins-creative-club-award-for-halloween-social-event/

08/24/2026

We had a great time at the FNGLA (Florida Nursery, Growers & Landscape Association) landscape show last week, joining our friends with the UF Horticultural Sciences program at their table to talk with attendees about our master of agribusiness program, and even visiting with MAB alumni Erik Tietig!

08/21/2026

As we welcome students back to campus for the Fall 2026 semester, we are also thrilled to welcome back to FRE Dr. Ting Cao as our newest assistant instructional professor!

Cao, who earned her Ph.D. in Food and Resource Economics at UF in Spring 2024, has spent the past two years as a postdoctoral associate in the UF Department of Economics where she independently designed and taught several undergraduate courses.

As she takes on this new role, Cao is excited to continue growing as an instructor providing mentorship to new members of the FRE community.

“As a former Ph.D. student in our department, I have learned so much from the outstanding faculty and the supportive community here,” Cao said. “I'm grateful for the opportunity to give back by teaching and mentoring the students.”

To learn more about Dr. Cao, check out our latest blog post: https://blogs.ifas.ufl.edu/fredept/2026/08/21/uf-food-and-resource-economics-department-welcomes-assistant-instructional-professor-ting-cao/

08/20/2026

Waving not a goodbye, but see you later to all our Summer 2026 graduates 🧡💙

For all of our alumni new and old looking to keep in touch with the FRE community, make sure you are signed up for the FRE Alumni Network!

Join our FRE Alumni Network Now: https://mailchi.mp/ifas/fre-alumni-contacts

08/19/2026

Florida Summers can be hot, but we were all excited to add a couple more degrees ☀️🎓

Congratulations to the six newest graduates of our Ph.D. in Food and Resource Economics program – Drs. Fernando Brito, Dinglin Duan, Sheikh Jafar Emran, Suraj Gurung, Abhishek Rajan and Md Roknuzzaman!

We are so proud of their hard work and dedication that they showed to reach this achievement, and can’t wait to see the great things to come from these amazing new alumni.

And a special thanks to their advisors Dr. Gulcan Onel (Fernando Brito), Dr. Zhifeng Gao (Dinglin Duan), Dr. Andrew Schmitz (Sheikh Jafar Emran), Dr. Lijun “Angelia” Chen (Suraj Gurung), Dr. Olesya Savchenko (Abhishek Rajan), and Dr. Conner Mullally (Md Roknuzzaman) for their mentorship and guidance!

08/17/2026

Our fully online Master of Agribusiness (MAB) program allows students to earn their UF graduate degree from anywhere, but we were extra excited to see these MAB graduates here on campus in Gainesville for commencement!

Congratulations to Calvin Gardner, Tate Mayo, Diana Moya and all of the rest of the Summer 2026 Gator students graduating! 🎓💙🧡

08/14/2026

Have you ever tried a Finger Lime?

Thanks to Dr. Manjul Dutt and his team at the UF IFAS Citrus Research and Education Center, this unique citrus known for its juicy, popping pearls is broadening the state’s citrus industry, with new varieties such as the UF SunLime & UF Red Lime that thrive in growing conditions across Florida and are known for their distinctive and enticing bright red pulp.

Researchers from the FRE Department have been working alongside the agronomists and producers to help understand the market potential for finger lime production, and in the latest episode of , Dr. Lijun “Angelia” Chen & M.S. Alumnus & current research analyst Andres Bejarano Loor join our hosts to discuss the findings, which were the subject of Bejarano Loor’s Master’s Thesis.

To determine the market potential, Bejarano Loor traveled to events across Florida to interact with five different stakeholder groups: growers, home gardeners, food enthusiasts, extension agents, and mixologists.

Episode streaming now on our website and on your favorite podcast platforms!

Listen now: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2375738/episodes/19527060-what-s-the-future-for-florida-s-finger-limes-exploring-the-market-potential-for-emerging-specialty-crops

Address

1195 McCarty Hall A
Gainesville, FL
32611

Opening Hours

Monday	8am - 5pm
Tuesday	8am - 5pm
Wednesday	8am - 5pm
Thursday	8am - 5pm
Friday	8am - 5pm

Telephone

+13522947639

Website

https://fred.ifas.ufl.edu/

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