Gene A. Futrell

Considered a "giant" in the field of livestock economics by his colleagues, Dr. Futrell was widely recognized and respected for the quality of his analyses of the cattle and hog markets. He earned his undergraduate and master's degrees in agricultural economics from Iowa State University in 1952 and 1957 and, after serving in the Marines for a year, his doctorate from Ohio State University. He worked as an extension associate for both Iowa State (1954-61) and Ohio State (1961-64). He returned to Iowa State as an assistant professor in 1964 and remained there until his death in 1991. He was promoted to associate professor in 1967 and to full professor in 1970. During his time at Iowa State, he was responsible for conducting extension educational programs in marketing, market outlook, and price analysis, with particular emphasis on livestock markets. He served as coordinator of extension programs in the department of economics from 1970 to 1986. He was one of five members of the Iowa Governor's Economic Advisory Council from 1974 to 1983 and served on the Marketing Board of the Iowa Department of Agriculture from 1973 to 1986. He co-authored a textbook, Marketing Farm Products, now in its seventh edition.

Dr. Futrell received the Outstanding Extension Educator Award from ISU Extension in 1978, the ISU Faculty Citation in 1984 and the University Extension Distinguished Service Award in 1990. He was a member of the editorial council (1975-77) and associate editor (1983-86) of the AJAE, a member of the Extension Affairs Committee (1981-84), and a member of the AAEA Board of Directors from 1988 to the time of his death.