Recent snowfalls brought much needed moisture to our region. Even so, the drought of last year has not been broken. Should it continue for months ... or even years ... what are the potential long-term effects?
In the first portion of Monday's Up to Date, Steve Kraske talks with Julian Binfield, an expert in agricultural economics and KCUR / Harvest Public Media's Frank Morris. They examine the influence a prolonged drought can have on everything from crops to food prices to biofuel mandates.
Julian Binfield is a Market/Policy Research Assistant Professor for the Food and Agricultural Policy Research Institute (FAPRI) at the University of Missouri - Columbia. He provides insight and analysis regarding the agricultural sector of the European Union. Julian has also produced analysis for the European Commission and is involved with other international projects such as the collaboration with the Bureau for Food and Agricultural Policy (BFAP) at the University of Pretoria, South Africa. Prior to joining FAPRI in 2001, Julian spent four years working at Teagasc in Dublin, Ireland, where he was responsible for the construction of an econometric model of the livestock sector. He has a BA in Economics and Agricultural Economics from the University of Manchester, and a MSc in Agricultural Economics from the University of Reading, both in the United Kingdom.