Ben Brown is a senior research associate with the Food and Agricultural Policy Research Institute, leading farm-level and sectoral outreach initiatives. He routinely works with the University of Missouri Extension Agricultural Business and Policy team, also within the university’s Division of Applied Social Sciences.
A native of western Missouri’s Bates County, Brown grew up on a diversified row-crop and cattle operation. His involvement in 4-H and FFA led to his passion for extension education.
Brown received bachelor’s degrees in agricultural economics and agronomy from Kansas State University in 2015. He received a master’s degree in agricultural and applied economics from the University of Missouri, where he was a graduate assistant at the institute. Before joining MU, he was an associate professor of professional practice at Ohio State University, leading farm management education in Ohio. His work focuses on U.S. farm policy, commodity markets and farm finance. Recent work includes analysis of crop-basis impacts under extreme weather scenarios, examination of U.S. agricultural producer consolidation, educational seminars for agricultural lenders, farm policy education for producers and agricultural service providers, weekly grain market outlooks and hosting international trade groups interested in U.S. agriculture.