CORVALLIS, Ore. — Responding to an industry need, the Oregon State University Extension Service welcomed two new agricultural economists in 2022.
“They come to us with a great deal of professional experience in other regions of the U.S. and offer a new perspective on problems in agricultural economics, natural resources and sustainable development.”
Dan Bigelow and Tim Delbridge are assistant professors in the Department of Applied Economics and have statewide Extension responsibilities. Bigelow started Aug. 17 and Delbridge came on board Sept. 1.
“For the past several years Extension programs may have lacked substantial economic data, but with the hire of two new applied economics faculty their input in a diverse range of Extension programs will help producers and ranchers make sense of their agricultural enterprises,” said Sam Angima, associate dean for Extension.
Before coming to Oregon State, Bigelow spent three years as an assistant professor at Montana State University and has experience with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Economic Research Service as a research economist in the Rural and Resource Economics Division.
He earned a bachelor’s degree and master’s degree in resource economics from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, and a Ph.D. in applied economics from Oregon State. His dissertation examined land and water use in the Willamette Valley through the lens of Oregon’s urban growth boundaries and water rights policies.
Delbridge comes to Oregon State from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, where he was on the faculty of the college’s Agribusiness Department and served as assistant department head.
He has a bachelor’s degree in international studies from the University of Wisconsin and a master’s and Ph.D. in applied economics from the University of Minnesota. At Cal Poly, Delbridge studied the economic viability of robotic strawberry harvesting and processing and the economic impact of insect pests on strawberry production. He also looked at how drought and water restrictions in California impact organic certification, which can be a difficult process.
“Dan and Tim have extensive knowledge of the types of economic challenges and opportunities that many people face in Oregon,” said Jeff Reimer, professor and interim director of the Department of Applied Economics. “They come to us with a great deal of professional experience in other regions of the U.S. and offer a new perspective on problems in agricultural economics, natural resources and sustainable development.”
Early projects: agritourism and land use
In their short time at Oregon State, Bigelow and Delbridge have already jumped into multiple projects.
Bigelow’s position focuses broadly on local and regional economic development. He has joined a team looking at the impact of agritourism in the Willamette Valley.
“We’re trying to learn more about the value of agritourism within the region, thinking in particular about what types of benefits there are for a grower to expand into agritourism,” Bigelow said. “Do operations hire more workers when they offer agritourism? Will it affect their bottom line?”
In addition, Bigelow is involved in work on real estate markets and land use in Oregon, particularly how urban growth boundaries influence agricultural and forest land values, housing prices and development patterns.
Production economics to guide on-farm decisions
Most of Delbridge’s work is on production issues facing growers. He uses production and financial data to analyze how new technology, production systems or policy affect growers’ profitability.
“It can be helpful for producers and others in the ag supply chain to understand which market conditions support investment in things like automation or a conversion to organic production,” Delbridge said. “And it’s important for researchers and policy makers to understand the real-world implications of making changes that affect farmers.”
Previously titled New Oregon State agricultural economists help farmers and ranchers with their bottom line