Agricultural & Applied Economics: Personnel
Forrest
E. Stegelin
Associate Professor of Agricultural and Applied Economics
313 Conner Hall
University of Georgia
Phone: 706-542-0850
Fax: 706-542-0739
E-mail: stegelin@uga.edu
Academic Background
- Ph. D., 1979 (Oklahoma State University)
- M.B.A., 1976 (University of Oklahoma)
- B.S., 1970 (Kansas State University)
Expertise
Agribusiness Marketing; Farm Inputs Outlook and Marketing; Food and Fiber marketing;Green Industry Business & Financial Management
Biographical Sketch
Forrest Stegelin joined the UGA faculty in 1994. prior to his current appointment of 50% extension and 50% teaching, he has been on the ag economics faculties of the University of Florida, Texas A & M University, and University of Kentucky. he serves as advisor to the Department's undergraduate Georgia Agribusiness Council Chapter, and teaches Selling in Agribusiness and Agribusiness Accounting.
He is the recipient of the Georgia Association of County Agricultural Agent's State Award for Farm and Ranch Financial Management and the National Association of County Agricultural Agent's Farm and Ranch Financial Management Certificate of merit Award. Dr. Stegelin represents the University on the Western Research Coordinating Committee on Agribusiness Performance Effectiveness and efficiency. He has been a participant in numerous regional, national, and international conferences and symposia on topics ranging from inputs marketing to agribusiness management to environmental or green industry economics to rural economic development to the future for value-adding agribusinesses.
Educational Philosophy
Agribusiness firms frequently seek assistance in solving problems associated with applied economics, marketing feasibility studies seem to be an effective vehicle for providing solutions. The primary purpose of the studies has been to provide useful information for decision making. The types of information generated and presented are different for virtually every study. Studies can be grouped into two broad categories: those focusing on problems of market demand, and those that give primary consideration to financial problems confronting the agribusiness.
Many of these feasibility studies and the assistance in applied managerial economics decision making arising from my Extension activities also become the basis for my classroom instruction when I use the case study method of teaching. At the heart of the case method id the document or case study. Properly presented, a case describes a specific situation, centers on a problem or decision, and deals with issues important to the problem solver. Each case is structured to invite the analyst to take the role of decision maker in the context of the case, and decisions made are good-bad, rather than right-wrong. Lessons we (the students, the agribusiness decision makers, and I) have learned are that pushing a pencil to "what-if" is among the cheapest and most effective decision making techniques, and there are at least two sides to every analysis, with even an occasional maybe.