T. Jake Smith

My name is Jake, and I am an Assistant Professor in the Department of Agricultural Economics at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

I earned my Ph.D. in Economics from Iowa State University in 2023. Before joining UNL, I was a postdoctoral research associate at ISU's Center for Agricultural and Rural Development.

My research focuses on industrial organization and policy analysis in agricultural supply chains. I study how market structure, procurement practices, and public policy shape prices, production, and resilience in sectors such as beef packing and crop agriculture. Much of my recent work examines buyer power in livestock markets and the effects of the Renewable Fuel Standard on crop rotation patterns. I also study the economics of innovation and technology adoption in agriculture, exploring how new technologies emerge, spread, and reshape production decisions within agricultural supply chains.