Trust Funded Programs

The AAEA Trust supports the work of agricultural and applied economists by funding programs and initiatives designed to advance the profession. Programs are chosen to receive funding based on their ability to accomplish one or both of the following goals:

• support graduate student and early career professional development
• enhance the AAEA Annual Meeting, broaden participation in AAEA, reach out to new groups, and/or broaden the horizons of the current membership

In 2014, the Trust provided $150,006 in funding to projects through its four support categories. In addition, the Trust Special Purpose Funds awarded ten scholarships and awards in 2014, which included almost $20,000 in funding for the recipients.

Student and Early Career Professional Travel and Development

The Student and Early Career Professional Travel and Development support category provides assistance for students and young professionals from U.S. colleges, universities, and institutions. Allocations to this category are used to provide travel grants for the Annual Meeting, general support for projects conducted by students and early career professionals, and support for the Undergraduate and Graduate Student Section’s Annual Meeting activities.

For more information on how to apply for a 2016 Travel Grant for Early Career Professionals and Graduate Students, click here.

2015 AAEA Early Career Professional Travel Grant Winners

• Sandip Agarwal, Iowa State University
• Dylan Bouchard, University of Maine
• Shun Chonabayashi, Cornell University
• Jen Z. He, University of Maryland
• Ji Yong Lee, Kansas State University
• Yoo Hwan Lee, Colorado State University
• Yu Na Lee, University of Minnesota
• Wilson E. Lopez, North Dakota State University
• Luis M. Pena-Levano, Purdue University
• Frederick M. Quaye, Auburn University
• Pratikshya Sapkota Bastola, Washington State University
• Andrew M. Simons, Cornell University
• William M. Thompson, University of Georgia
• Seth Wiggins, West Virginia University
• Jia Zhong, University of Tennessee, Knoxville

2014 Projects

The Trust provided $19,820 in support of Student and Early Career Professional Travel and Development in 2014. Those funds were allocated among the following programs:

• Student and Early Career Professional Travel Grants for the 2013 AAEA & CAES Joint Annual Meeting in Washington, DC: Selected graduate student and early career professional members of AAEA received $500 to help offset their travel expenses associated with attending the Annual Meeting.
• AAEA Mentoring Program Workshop: AAEA launched a mentorship program in 2012. The program was able to continue for the 2013 AAEA & CAES Joint Annual Meeting in Washington, DC, 2014 AAEA Annual Meeting in Minneapolis, MN, and 2015 AAEA & WAEA Joint Annual Meeting in San Francisco, CA. The funds provided by the Trust help offset the costs of the program, allowing mentors to participate for free and reducing the registration rate for mentees.

Outreach

AAEA’s Outreach efforts disseminate members’ professional analysis and information to a broad public, and promote exchanges of information among members to enhance their own teaching, extension, and other outreach efforts. These goals are accomplished through Choices Magazine.

2013 Projects

The Trust provided $30,730 in support of Outreach in 2014. Those funds were allocated among the following programs:

• Choices Magazine Production and Distribution: The AAEA Trust is the sole funding source for Choices, providing support for editorial costs, marketing of new issues, web hosting, and AAEA staff time. Choices published eight sets of theme articles and several submitted articles which offer timely analysis on politically relevant issues.

The Council on Food, Agricultural, and Resource Economics (C-FARE)

The Council on Food, Agricultural, and Resource Economics (C-FARE) is a non-profit organization, headquartered in Washington, DC, dedicated to strengthening the national presence of the agricultural and applied economics profession. C-FARE projects are aimed at communicating the profession’s findings and demonstrating the value of agricultural and related applied economic research to policymakers and their staffs, as well as representing the public good interests of the profession.

2014 Projects

The Trust provided $47,703 in support of C-FARE in 2014. That support makes up roughly one-quarter of C-FARE's annual operating budget. In 2013, C-FARE aimed to accomplish the following goals:

• Continuing to Educate Agencies and Decision Makers; Increase Resources to the Profession: C-FARE will continue to work with other scientific societies and federal granting agencies to provide briefings in 2014 on research topics and areas where agricultural economists contribute.
• Demonstrating Application of Research Directly through the Marketing of Choices: C-FARE plans to host one webinar based on each issue of Choices, which will target policy makers, other professionals, students plus AAEA members.
• Connecting AAEA Leadership with Other Associations that Can Benefit from Interdisciplinary Work with Applied Economists: C-FARE has cultivated many beneficial relationships with key national decision makers to ensure that the profession's contributions to agricultural and environmental policy are well known and appreciated. They are currently working with other key social science organizations to explore a coalition of social science organizations to help support research and data needs across the agencies.
• Further Development of Students and Early Career Professionals: C-FARE offers intern briefings for students based in Washington, DC with an interest in agricultural and applied economics. The students hear from professionals about their career path and advice for their final years at school. Four briefings will be held, focusing on Capitol Hill careers, agency careers, and private industry careers.
• Nominations to Advisory Boards to Broaden Influence of the Profession: Annually C-FARE nominates members of the profession to federal advisory boards, ensuring that agricultural and applied economists have a voice in these key groups.

Other Projects

The Unrestricted support category allows the Trust to fund projects that are outside the scope of the other support categories and the Special Purpose Funds. (It also provides additional funding for other support categories as needed.) 

2014 Projects

The Trust provided $5,430 in support of projects outside the scope of the three main support categories in 2014. Those funds were allocated among the following programs:

• AARES-AAEA Young Professional Exchange Program: This program provides travel funding for an early career professional from the United States to attend the AARES Annual Meeting, as well as an early career professional from Australia or New Zealand to attend the AAEA Annual Meeting. The winners of these scholarships (which are known as the Heading North and Heading South awards) receive support from both the Trust and AARES to offset the travel costs and registration fees associated with attending each meeting. View the Call for Applications: Heading South Award for the 2018 Meeting in Adelaide.
• AAEA's Membership in COPAFS: The Trust provides funding for AAEA to be a member of The Council of Professional Associations on Federal Statistics (COPFAS), a committee which monitors developments in federal statistics.

Scholarships and Awards

Beyond the projects highlighted above, the AAEA Trust also provides support annually in the form of scholarships and awards given by the Trust Special Purpose Funds. Special Purpose Funds are restricted use funds, meaning that any donations they receive can only be used by that fund, and will not be included with the general funds of the Trust.

On the Special Purpose Funds page, you can learn more about the different funds established, their particular area of focus, and the names of past recipients.