Progressive Farmer Magazine Names Virginia Tech Economist Man of the Year

BLACKSBURG, Va., March 25, 2002 -- Progressive Farmer Magazine has named Virginia Tech Agricultural Economist Wayne Purcell as its Man of the Year in Service to Virginia Agriculture.

In its February edition, the major agricultural magazine cites Purcell's leadership in helping transform the nation's beef industry by making it more consumer-oriented than it was previously. The magazine noted that the industry's recent reversal of a long decline in market share can be traced to Purcell's efforts.

Also on the national scene, Purcell's applied research, especially in the area of pricing, price discovery, and demand shifts in the livestock economies of the mid-1980s led to Purcell establishing the Research Institute on Livestock Pricing. He obtained nearly $2 million in outside grants to fund research efforts and to pass findings on to those who could use it - producers, trade groups, and Congress. Purcell has become a much sought-after speaker in the United States and abroad. His weekly column on markets is distributed widely.

Closer to home, he is coordinator the Rural Economic Analysis Program, which provides information to policy makers throughout Virginia.

A native of Patrick County, Purcell now lives in Riner. He earned his bachelor's and master's degrees from Virginia Tech, and his doctorate from Michigan State University. He served as an agricultural economist with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and he was a professor of agricultural economics at Oklahoma State University before joining the Virginia Tech faculty in 1978.

Purcell is a Alumni Distinguished Professor in the Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics. Boyd Kidwell, a regional editor for Progressive Farmer is scheduled to present the award to Purcell at the Virginia Tech College of Agriculture and Life Sciences' Leadership banquet on Sept. 4.