The Agricultural Economics (Ag Econ) Club proudly took home first place in the Creative Club Competition at the Agricultural and Applied Economics Association (AAEA) Annual Meeting, a recognition of their innovative efforts to foster student engagement and community within the Food and Resource Economics (FRE) Department.
“I was super excited to find out we won first place for the Creative Club Award, especially considering we came super close last year when coming in 2nd!” said Morgan Smith, last year’s vice president of Ag Econ Club, and incoming President for the next academic year. “ It’s a testament to the progress we’ve made in keeping students engaged and involved within the department.”
Promoting Student Involvement in Food and Resource Economics
The Ag Econ Club has made it a mission to build a welcoming and professionally enriching space for FRE students. Last year’s executive board, composed of Officers Emerson Searl, Morgan Smith, and Savannah Bailey, worked collaboratively to increase student interest and involvement.
“Our goals were to ensure FRE students can build a community outside of just going to their classes, and to serve as a middle ground in connecting students to experiential learning opportunities that enhance their professional development and career readiness,” Smith said.
Some of the year’s standout programming included: a jointly hosted trivia night with the Academic Quiz Bowl team, a tasting panel and focus group with Gator NAMA ahead of their annual student marketing competition, the Halloween walk-through with FRE faculty—featuring surprises like professors dressed as Bigfoot or controlling a remote-control tarantula.
“These were super fun, chill events where we could all just hang out without having to worry about classes or being super professional,” Smith said. “I loved getting to chat with my classmates and peers during the game nights and the Halloween walk-through!”
Last year’s Ag Econ Club President Emerson Searl also shared, “I absolutely loved working with the team to organize our monthly events. Our passionate faculty and amazing students allowed us to create the best events for people to connect!”
While the club worked hard year-round to come up with new and exciting programming, they received the award based on two standout events that encouraged student-faculty interaction and experiential learning: its Halloween Door Decorating Contest in the Fall and the Gator Nama Focus Group in the Spring.
Halloween Door Decorating Contest (Fall)
The first event, a Halloween Door Decorating Contest, built upon one of the Club’s most popular events from the year before.
Faculty and staff decorated their office doors and dressed in themed costumes, while students visited, received candy, filled out punch cards for entry to a raffle, and even voted on their favorite doors and costumes via social media.
“This event is my favorite! Everyone gets to dress up and be festive. It’s a great change of pace at the office,” said Club Advisor Dr. Caleb Stair.
NAMA Focus Group (Spring)
Each Spring, the UF Gator NAMA team, led by FRE assistant professor John Lai, participates in the international student agribusiness marketing competition. The team will make a strategic marketing plan for the product they decide to make with a crop that would support Florida’s Agricultural industry.
In collaboration with the National Agri-Marketing Association (NAMA) student team, this event allowed FRE students to give feedback on NAMA’s project ahead of their national competition.
“This year we started doing more things with NAMA, and getting to have such a practical event was so nice,” added Stair.
After the NAMA focus group and feedback from faculty and staff, the UF Gator NAMA team made it to semifinals.
Looking Ahead
With momentum on their side, the Ag Econ Club is already planning for another exciting year.
The Ag Econ Club remains open to all UF students interested in agribusiness or agricultural economics. With the support of Dr. Stair and an energetic leadership team, the club is helping shape a vibrant, inclusive, and professionally enriching experience within the FRE Department.
“I’m excited to work with a dream team of students on our club leadership to help organize programming for next year!” said Smith. “We’re looking forward to implementing workshops, guest speaker panels, more collaborations, social media campaigns, and student achievement spotlights over the next year!”
The club’s first meeting of the semester will take place on Wednesday, August 27th at 4:30 PM in McCarty A 1151, welcoming all students interested in getting involved!
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