The technicalities of economics and agricultural disciplines collide in Colorado State University’s department of agricultural and resource economics. Housed in the College of Agricultural Sciences, the discipline approaches problems through an all-encompassing lens.

“In the department, we really think about applied economic questions specifically related to natural resources and agricultural production, from land use and water use and natural resource use all the way through (agriculture) production, food production, food consumption, to policymakers,” said Hayley Chouinard, DARE head and professor.

Economics, while traditionally defined as the study of production, distribution and consumption of goods, has an specific definition within the department.

“The definition of economics is the allocation of scarce resources,” DARE Professor Dana Hoag said. “People think it’s about money, but that is not really what it is. It’s like choosing what you want to do with water or air or soil. … What (our department) does is we apply economics to help answer those questions.” 

“We think about financial sustainability as well as environmental sustainability as well as social sustainability. So we care about not just money and not just the environment but how it affects people as well.” –Hayley Chouinard, DARE head

Four majors are offered within the department: environmental and natural resource economics, agricultural business, agricultural education and livestock business management. Continued educational opportunities are also available through three master’s degrees and a Ph.D. program.

Across all programs, sustainability is a primary focus, as is the economic practice of accounting for all potential variables.

“We think about financial sustainability as well as environmental sustainability as well as social sustainability,” Chouinard said. “So we care about not just money and not just the environment, but how it affects people as well.”

Social sustainability is seen in the agricultural education program, which hosts two concentrations: agricultural literacy and secondary teacher development.

Livestock business management originally launched in fall 2023 and is the second joint major to be offered on campus. In this collaboration between DARE and the department of animal sciences, students take a mixture of classes in which they gain an understanding of livestock physicality along with business practices.

Regardless of their degree, all students within the program are introduced to the five DARE Student Outcomes in their introductory course. Each student is also paired with a mentor who helps them meet the five outcomes.

“Every student should come out proficient in professional development skills (and) technical competency, which is specific to their major,” Chouinard said.

Junior Austin McHugh said the positive trajectory established by the introductory course is long lasting as students move through their programs.

“One of the biggest takeaways I had was through (AREC 192),” McHugh said. “Chouinard took the time to memorize every person’s name as we went through their first eight weeks in that class, and that was huge. It shows the impact of how much they truly care about the students going through that program.”

The department actively collaborates with outside entities and organizations on research, which Chouinard noted aligns with the university’s land-grant mission.

“Our research is applied and is directed towards some sort of stakeholder or external partner,” Chouinard said. “So that might be a water conservation board or a land trust, or it might be policy makers or farmers or stores, retails, grocery stores, … so the general public is always a stakeholder for us as well.”

Through relationships formed with outside organizations and stakeholders, students have several internship and professional opportunities. The CSU Extension Summer Internship Program, which originated in DARE, offers over 75 internships annually by pairing students with CSU faculty and extension employees across the state.

The broad reach of the department extends into research, which focuses on four overarching topics: agricultural and food systems economics, environmental and natural resource economics, rural development economics and agricultural education.

Each focus area is further divided into subdisciplines, such as food labeling, livestock production and local food economies in food systems, or rural-urban linkages and agricultural value chains in rural development studies. Many professors also cross-collaborate between focuses, a quality Chouinard noted as unique to CSU’s DARE program.

“We have a really strong community between the faculty, staff and our students, undergraduate and graduate students,” Chouinard said. “We have a really vibrant, thriving community.”

This academic community has an opportunity for everyone interested in investing in the public good, regardless of background, experience or history.

“If you want to make a difference in the lives of people, it has anything to do with natural resources or food,” Chouinard said. “Or if you just are looking for a community that’s excited to have a diverse set of people, we’re really interested in welcoming you into what we’re doing and into our community.” 

Reach Katie Fisher at science@collegian.com or on Twitter @CSUCollegian.