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Economist joins staff at UW's SAREC research facilityWyoming A new member of the James C. Hageman Sustainable Agriculture Research and Extension Center team near Lingle may well ask researchers immersed in data "Where's the dollar?" John Ritten began Aug. 19 as assistant professor in production economics/systems analysis, a position planners of the facility have said will complete the integrated systems research strived for at SAREC with its livestock, crop and pasture capabilities. SAREC is one of four research and extension centers in Wyoming that are part of the UW Agricultural Experiment Station. "I'll be working with researchers to put the economic aspect on the plant and animal research to really nail down the impact on producers and their bottom line," said Ritten, who recently received his doctorate in agricultural economics from Colorado State University. "The goal of SAREC is sustainable agricultural research, but we need to determine whether the practices can be profitably implemented by producers. So, unless we can show the value to producers, these new practices may never be put into place." Having an economist at SAREC is key to making the integrated research work, said Larry Cundall, chairman of the SAREC advisory board. Cundall was a member of the original review committee that created the SAREC mission almost a decade ago. "From the beginning, that was the part we thought would make this gel," said Cundall, a Platte County producer. "That's the part producers needed to make all the parts work together." Ritten said various crop and livestock research can be adjusted to different input and output prices and management strategies. SAREC's interaction with various disciplines drew Ritten to the position. "I can be involved in research at its inception and answer pertinent questions for the local area as opposed to being in a university building where everyone has great research projects, but not many others know about them," he said. "This gets me out there with people who can utilize our findings." Ritten joins the faculty at SAREC that includes Jim Krall, director of research, and Steve Paisley, beef cattle specialist (www.uwyo.edu/uwexpstn/SAREC.asp). Both carry extension responsibilities. "SAREC is also extension based--every producer is another researcher," said Ritten. "They can answer a lot of my questions, and they can raise a lot of pertinent questions--questions I never thought to ask. Research should be driven to meet community needs." He will also work with UW students to show how economic analysis can be incorporated into their research. Ritten, a Rapid City, S.D., native, is no stranger to Wyoming. While at CSU, he taught courses for UW, and his dissertation looks at interactions between cattle and rangeland in Wyoming under different management strategies during periods of drought. He received his bachelor's degree in marketing from Arizona State University and his master's of business administration from New Mexico State University. His wife, Chian, is pursuing a doctorate in economics at CSU. 9/15/08 Date: 9/10/08
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