Texas Tech Agricultural & Applied Economics

10/08/2026

Dr. Cele Stone hosted the 2nd annual innovation challenge. Students competed on teams to tackle problems presented by the companies RanchBot and Continental Dairy. Teams were matched with industry mentors to assist in developing solutions and "pitches" to a panel of judges. The event allows students to experience a hands-on, real world experience in team work, problem solving, and idea presentation. 37 students from across Texas Tech Davis College of Agricultural Sciences & Natural Resources participated. What a great event for the students!

10/08/2026

Dr. Conrad Lyford held his annual sales and marketing networking event. Students have an opportunity to network with industry professionals to gain perspective on potential careers and begin building their professional networks.

10/02/2026

TTU AAEC held its inaugural meeting of the Ag and Rural Law Society. About 40 students attended the first meeting for students with interest in agricultural law. What a great first turnout! Thanks to Lowell Randel and Ron Phillips for organizing and co-advising this new student organization!

08/26/2026

Congratulations to Taylor Gillit for winning the Agricultural Water Sustainability Summit poster competition! Her work focused on consumer willingness to pay for lower water footprint milk and is helping inform the industry about economic benefits of water conservation in dairy (feed) production. Her coauthors were Drs. Darren Hudson and Luis Sandoval from AAEC and Dr. Mike Ballou from Veterinary Sciences.

08/22/2026

This summer, nine Texas Tech University students embarked on an unforgettable journey through Experience Agribusiness in Costa Rica, a month-long study abroad program led by Associate Professor Dr. Shaikh Mahfuz Rahman. Based in San José from May 24–June 24, students took Agribusiness Marketing beyond the classroom, exploring Costa Rica’s vibrant agribusiness landscape through visits to Cafe-O-Teka, Green Ark and Costa Rica Meadery, Hacienda DOKA Coffee Plantation and Britt Coffee, and Copey Estate Winery. Supported by TTU Costa Rica, students also immersed themselves in the country’s rich culture through cooking and tropical dance classes, the Maro Experience, documentary screenings, and excursions to remarkable cultural, historical, and natural sites. Blending academic learning, industry exposure, cultural immersion, and adventure, the program gave students a truly global perspective on agribusiness, and memories to last a lifetime.

07/30/2026

Congratulations to Dr. Conrad Lyford being selected to the Fulbright Specialist program. He will be working on internship program development at the Universidad San Carlos in Paraguay this fall! Congrats!

07/28/2026

Big haul at the AAEA meetings:

Dr. Ujjwol Paudel won the Outstanding Article for the Applied Economics and Policy Perspectives journal.

Dr. Stephen Devadoss won the Outstanding Article for Choices Magazine.

The Excel Competition team of Jack Davis, Cooper Mau, and Cheyene Wedeking and coached by Dr. Marty Middleton placed 2nd nationally.

The Quiz Bowl team won four matches and lost two.

Congratulations to everyone on an outstanding showing at the national meetings!

07/09/2026

New faculty member Ujjwol Paudel is already cranking out the research. "Concentration and Wages in Retailing" was just released in the Review of Industrial Organization. Congratulations!

Antitrust policy in the U.S. now explicitly includes labor-market outcomes as measures of interest when considering the potential anticompetitive effects of mergers or acquisitions. Concentration in the food retailing industry is of particular concern due to several recent high-profile mergers, and....

06/04/2026

06/04/2026

Students completed a whirlwind tour of DC and Europe on their International Agricultural Policy study tour. Along the way, students met with the U.S. Trade Representative's office, the U.S. International Trade Commission, and the USDA Foreign Agricultural Service in Washington, DC. They then traveled to Rome to meet with the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) of the United Nations and the World Food Programme. They also toured the sites in Rome and Pompeii.

Next stop was Geneva, Switzerland with visits to the U.S. Mission to the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the WTO offices and delegations. The students had the honor of meeting the U.S. Ambassador to the WTO. Students also went to the top of Mont Blanc (the highest peak in Europe) and Annecy, France.

Final stop was Brussels, Belgium. There, they visited the agricultural producer and cooperative organization and met with an agricultural lobbyist to the European Union. The trip ended with tours of Bruges and Ghent.

It was great tour and great learning experience for everyone. Looking forward to a great trip again next year! Start planning to join the program!