The Economy, Agriculture,
and Long-Term Growth
While we are all still working to sort out the consequences of the economic downturn, it is clear that the historic setbacks that the economy experienced starting in late 2008 have profoundly affected all of us.
Public land-grant universities have not been spared. Resources and assets that we long assumed to be secure have become uncertain, and several of our core programs and services are under review as we adapt to new budgetary realities.
Many of our students and their families, already stretched thin by increasing costs, must now contend with new financial challenges. University leaders, acknowledging our land-grant mission of sustaining wide access to higher education, have redoubled efforts to restrain the growth of tuition and fees.
If there is a positive side to our national economic crisis, it may be that the agriculture and food sectors remain relatively sound. Make no mistake, farmers and agribusinesses face some enormous challenges. Yet, at least by comparison to the manufacturing and housing sectors, farming and agriculture-related enterprises remain in a comparatively favorable position.
The College’s annual report on Kentucky’s agricultural economy estimated another record year of sales for 2008 and projected only moderate declines in 2009. Another major College study released late last year concluded that Kentucky’s investment in agriculture with tobacco settlement money has been an effective economic development strategy.
Of course, the demand for food and fiber, particularly for a growing global population, will always be there. But more than that, we must convince our economic leaders and policy makers that the agricultural sector is also fertile ground for innovation, new products, and enterprises, even the foundation for a new green, bio-based economy of the future.
In tough times, it’s important to realize that the food and agriculture sectors remain worthy of our attention and investment as powerful, relatively stable engines of economic recovery and growth. And at the College of Agriculture we remain fully invested in our own long-term growth strategy: the land-grant mission to educate citizens and improve their lives.
M. Scott Smith
Dean and Director, College of Agriculture
