Editorial
Board, Southern Journal of Agricultural Economics, 1969-72
AAEA,
Outstanding Journal Article Award, 1968
Western Agricultural Economics Association, Outstanding Published
Research Award, 1969
AAEA, Chair, National Task Force for Commodity Cost and Return
Estimation Methods, 1991-98
USDA, Vice-Chair, Cost of Production Review Board, 1992-95.
Vernon
Eidman made outstanding contributions to the advancement of agricultural
economics through research, teaching and administration. He has
published more than 50 journal articles, 8 books and chapters,
and many other papers. He has developed pioneering courses, won
teaching awards, and co-authored a renowned text. Vernon has also
established himself as an efficient and effective administrator
at both the national and local level.
A native of Illinois, Vernon Eidman received his B.S. and M.S.
from the University of Illinois and a Ph.D. from the University
of California, Berkeley. He joined the faculty at Oklahoma State
University in 1964. Since 1975, he has been a Professor at the
University of Minnesota and, since 1998, Head of the Department.
Vernon has devoted much of his professional career to studying
the effect that changes in technology, policy, and institutional
arrangements have on the risk and returns at the firm level. He
applied Bayesian decision analysis to the choice between independent
and contract production, research that won the AAEA award for
Best Journal Article. Other studies contributed to the literature
on estimating risk by level of variable input, and on estimating
the value of information in making decisions on input level. This
group of studies contributed to our understanding of the choices
farmers make, how these choices vary with risk preferences, and
how these choices may impact farm structure.
A second research area considered the impact of policy on the
agricultural sector. Vernon and his students were among the first
to model the inter-temporal allocation of ground water in the
Ogallala aquifer. He has also made significant contributions to
the discussion on alternative energy production, and the farm
level impacts of federal policy. His recent work has focused on
the economic issues related to farmland drainage, and the potential
for tradable permits to serve as an efficient, locally controlled
method of limiting nitrate pollution of groundwater supplies.
In addition to his research, Vernon developed pioneering courses,
and was recognized for outstanding teaching at both Oklahoma State
University and the University of Minnesota. His undergraduate
teaching focus has been primarily in farm and agribusiness management.
He and his colleagues were among the first to develop and utilize
gaming and simulations to teach farm planning, to increase the
emphasis on business management concepts, and to begin integrating
strategic management in teaching farm management courses. He co-authored
a text, Farm Management, with Michael Boehlje in 1984 that became
a highly regarded, definitive text.
His primary focus in graduate teaching has been in production
economics, particularly research procedures to deal with time
and uncertainty. An outstanding teacher and mentor, two of his
former advisees were recognized by AAEA with Outstanding Dissertation
Awards. Many of his former students are members of the profession
today.
Vernon also made major contributions to administration at both
the national and local levels. He has served as a member of the
Executive Board and as President of AAEA. His 1995 Presidential
Address proposed expanding the set of services for members to
include: increased programming related to undergraduate teaching;
expansion of professional services for a broader range of agricultural
economists working in the private and public sectors; modification
of the annual meeting format to provide broader access to groups
within the profession; and the addition of a second peer-reviewed
journal for more applied research and teaching materials. He initiated
the process to make the Review of Agricultural Economics an AAEA
publication, and began implementing the other proposals in the
1996 annual meeting. He also served as Chair of the AAEA Task
Force on Commodity Cost and Return Estimation Methods, and as
Vice Chair of USDA's Cost of Production Review Board.
In his current role as head of the Department of Applied Economics
at the University of Minnesota, Vernon has strengthened the department
with strong faculty hires, encouragement to increase refereed
journal output per faculty, and incentives to increase the amount
of outside grant support. At the same time he instituted programs
and hired personnel to improve recruiting and advising of undergraduate
majors, thus increasing the size of the undergraduate program.
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