July 8, 2002
AMES, Iowa - The Food and Agricultural Policy Research Institute (FAPRI), a center jointly administered by Iowa State University and the University of Missouri-Columbia, received a Secretary's Honor Award from U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Ann Veneman at a ceremony in Washington, D.C., on Monday, July 8.
The Secretary's Honor Awards are the highest awards bestowed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. FAPRI's recognition was in the category "Expanding Economic and Trade Opportunities for United States Agricultural Producers."
Bruce Babcock said he appreciated this acknowledgement of the FAPRI team's efforts in helping to inform the discussion surrounding the new farm legislation. Babcock is director of FAPRI's administrative organization, the Center for Agricultural and Rural Development, and co-director of FAPRI at Iowa State.
"This award recognizes the outstanding research effort by FAPRI at ISU and Missouri in analyzing policy proposals during the 2002 farm bill debate," Babcock said. "This group has dedicated itself to being the world's best at conducting agricultural policy analysis."
Babcock added that the changing structure of agriculture and trade have added new dimensions to the analysis that FAPRI undertakes. "World economic integration makes it increasingly vital that we understand the impacts of U.S. policy decisions on U.S. and world markets, producers and consumers. Increasing numbers of policy proposals and their complexity requires that we continually update our analytical capabilities and our market intelligence."
The 56th annual Secretary's Honor Awards were held at the Ronald Reagan International Trade Center in Washington, D.C. Individuals and groups nationwide were singled out for their exemplary performance in work relating to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's mission of public service.