TACTICS

1. Provide a supportive environment for faculty to write federal and non-federal grant proposals by offering institutional assistance and leveraging college-level resources such as timely information on the availability of federal and non-federal funds, grant writing support, seed funding, and catalyst grants.
2. Provide post-award service so that faculty members know how much funding is available and where funds can be spent.
3. Offer incentives for faculty to seek external funding by allowing them to allocate a portion of indirect costs toward advancing their research activities.
4. Prioritize grant writing in areas where Texas Tech has a comparative advantage, including dryland agriculture, water resources, and integrated crop–livestock systems.
5. Promote interdisciplinary and industry partnership grant proposals by fostering collaboration with faculty across departments within the college, other colleges, and with faculty at TTU One Health.

TACTICS

1. Encourage faculty and students to submit papers to professional meetings and convert those papers into journal manuscripts within one year.
2. Offer a one-time financial incentive to individuals who publish in top-tier journals (a list of top-tier journals will be developed annually in consultation with faculty).
3. Provide travel funds for faculty to attend selected conferences (a list of conferences for which travel funds will be provided will be developed annually in consultation with faculty) if they are the lead author on a paper or if the paper is co-authored with their graduate students.
4. Require doctoral students to submit and/or publish at least one journal article in a peer-reviewed journal before earning their degree from the department.
5. Enhance research visibility by promoting published papers on the department’s LinkedIn page and featuring research highlights in the Davis College Website.
6. Establish a strong mentoring program within the department to enable senior faculty to support junior faculty in publishing and securing research grants.

TACTICS

1. Encourage graduate students to submit conference papers and posters early in their academic program.
2. Support graduate student participation in academic conferences by providing travel funding through faculty grants and departmental resources.
3. Promote regular attendance at departmental seminars as well as seminars hosted by the Economics Department and the Free Market Institute (FMI).
4. Launch a departmental seminar series and invite accomplished economists, advisory board members, and agricultural industry leaders.
5. Recruit graduate students through competitive programs such as the NIFA National Needs Graduate and Postgraduate Fellowships (NNF) and the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program.
6. Encourage graduate students to initiate a reading club or organize a graduate student seminar series through the departmental graduate student association.
7. Nominate student theses, dissertations, and other high-quality student research papers for awards.

TACTICS

1. Host Fulbright, Humphrey, and other international fellows/visiting scholars within the department to foster global academic exchange.
2. Connect with alumni working abroad to build relationships that can lead to new research collaborations and academic program development.
3. Establish partnerships with CGIAR centers, UN organizations, the Asian Development Bank (ADB), and the World Bank by collaborating on shared research interests or inviting their researchers to present seminars in the department.
4. Work closely with the Texas Tech University Office of International Affairs to identify opportunities for collaboration with international faculty and institutions.
5. Host international conferences (e.g., the World Conference on Natural Resource Modeling) or organize joint conferences and workshops on topics relevant to West Texas and global audiences.

Thorton Agricultural Finance Institute - The primary mission of the Thornton Agricultural Finance Institute is to focus faculty research on essential topics in agricultural finance; provide support for courses and research in agricultural finance and related areas; and assist with conferences, workshops, and other public service functions related to agricultural finance and banking. The institutes' conferences are vital, as they address topics related to agricultural lending, the agrarian economy, legal and regulatory matters, commodity outlook, and other issues of interest to rural bankers and lenders each year. The department, through the endowed position and other funded research, will continue to work on farm financial issues.

Integrated crop livestock Systems - In the living learning laboratory of the Texas Panhandle and Southern High Plains, there is on-farm and between-farm integration of crop and livestock systems, multi-crop and/or animal systems, and farms and ranches with a singular production focus. However, each segment impacts the others, and the products of one segment serve as a resource for another. Therefore, in West Texas, crop and livestock production can be mutually supportive and mutually dependent.  We will address these issues by integrating research that considers all viable options, technologies, and opportunities to enhance both economic and environmental sustainability. The department will focus on profitability and risk management in diversified, integrated crop, forage, and livestock systems.

The International Center for Agricultural Competitiveness - The International Center for Agricultural Competitiveness (ICAC) is housed in the department. It focuses on research relevant to the competitiveness of U.S. agriculture, from water security, technology adoption, and consumer markets, as well as internationally recognized research in areas such as food security and conflict, trade policy, and international marketing.

Sustainability, water, and natural resources - Water quality and water quantity concerns are common in the United States. Sustainable water systems are key to health, food production, and rural resilience. Our location, situated above the Ogallala aquifer, is key to understanding the impact of groundwater depletion and contamination on agricultural systems. The depletion of groundwater in the Ogallala aquifer will have far-reaching implications for West Texas. Judicious use of groundwater, maintenance of soil productivity, and sustainability of the farming system will be essential for a vibrant livelihood in the region. Improving our ecosystems and landscapes through proper management, restoration, and design that will protect our vital resources now and for the future. We will focus on developing economically optimal groundwater withdrawal strategies, on conjunctive use of ground and surface water, on studying water quality and quantity issues, on addressing transboundary water-sharing problems, and on managing natural resources. The focus will be on working closely with the Davis College Water Center and other departments to address the economics of natural resources.

Agricultural markets and trade - Through ICAC, department faculty will: 

• Leverage federal research funding to address critical competitiveness issues such as water security, international policy and competition from other countries, and consumer marketing issues to improve the profitability of U.S. agriculture.
• Train outstanding graduate students to address critical research issues and promote the national and international reputation of Texas Tech University and Davis College.
• Increase the scope and delivery of critical outreach and engagement activities, especially in the areas of agricultural policy and agricultural competitiveness research.

Rural development - Rural America covered 74 percent of the land surface and had 14 percent of the total U.S. population in 2023. In Texas, about 10% of the population lived in rural areas that year. Rural America faces numerous challenges, including an aging population, housing insecurity, low labor market participation, poverty, childcare and eldercare issues, and inadequate broadband access. There are opportunities, too, such as growth in renewable resources. The department's policy advocacy program helps bring farming and rural issues to the forefront. Research on rural issues will be essential to provide policy-relevant recommendations to alleviate problems facing rural Texas and rural America.

Technology adoption and digital agriculture - To cope with fluctuating rainfall and temperatures, farmers need to adopt more effective technology to remain profitable. In West Texas, an arid region with water shortages, applying the right inputs at the right time and place is crucial for efficient, profitable farming and ranching operations. Digital agriculture may help address problems such as rising production costs, climate variability, and labor shortages. Farmers have been utilizing precision irrigation, yield maps, soil maps, and variable-rate technologies. Research on why farmers adopt or do not adopt these technologies, and what can be done to improve their uptake, could be the department's focus over the next several years.

Risk and agribusiness management - Farming and ranching are risky professions. Agricultural producers need to understand risks to make informed farming and marketing decisions, ensuring profitability and sustainable resource management. Research on different types of risk management tools help farmers and ranchers overcome financial difficulty. Similarly, the federal government has several programs that support agricultural producers to manage risks to crop yields, livestock production, farm revenue, and profit margins. The choice of tool depends on several factors, including farm characteristics, the type of output produced, the use of inputs, and participation in government programs. The department, through the endowed position and other funded research, will continue to work on this front.

Food security, food safety, and health economics - A key pathway through which agriculture impacts society is through the production and distribution of food. The safety and security of the U.S. food supply is critical to the functioning of a modern society and a matter of national security. Trust in the food system underpins both economic growth and social cohesion. Additionally, food security in vulnerable populations, both domestically and internationally, is a driver of human health and social stability. Faculty in the department will continue to research food security and food safety, food prices, the intersection of food and human health, and consumer behavior related to food choices and nutrition assistance programs. By collaborating with TTU One Health, faculty will target NIH funding to research various food-related topics.