Utpal Vasavada
ERS Publications by this Author
Amber Waves Articles by this Author
Journal Publications by this Author
Branch Chief
202-694-5540
Email:
vasavada@ers.usda.gov
Briefly:Utpal Vasavada is Chief of the Production Economics and
Technology Branch in the Resource and Rural Economics Division. As
Branch Chief, he manages a program of economic research addressing
the determinants and effects of farm production decisions,
including the adoption of existing and emerging agricultural
production practices, management systems, and technologies. Topics
covered by the Branch's research program include agricultural
biotechnology adoption, agricultural chemical use, organic
production, agricultural land and water use, bioenergy, and climate
change. The Branch also collects production practice and input use
data through commodity versions of the Agricultural Resource
Management Survey (ARMS Phase 2) to facilitate computation of
national cost of production estimates for selected commodities.
Background:Utpal joined ERS in 1993 and has served in numerous capacities:
as a visiting scholar, an economist, a section leader, and
currently as Branch Chief. Utpal's research covered such topics as
determinants of capital investment in agriculture, cost and
profitability implications of restricting chemical use, invasive
species management, economics of foreign direct investment, and
sustainability. While at ERS, Utpal served as Associate
Editor of the American Journal of Agricultural Economics , on the
Advisory Board of the Global Trade Analysis Project (GTAP), and as
the US delegate to the OECD's JWP on Agriculture and the
Environment.. In addition to his work at ERS, Utpal has also
served as an Economist at the Northwest Fisheries Science Center,
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), U.S.
Department of Commerce, and a detail at the Office of Information
and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and Budget (OMB-OIRA).
Before joining ERS, Utpal served on the faculty at the University
of Georgia and Laval University.
Education:Utpal received a Ph.D. and an M.S. degree from the University of
Maryland, College Park. Utpal also received M.A. and B.A. degrees
from Pune University, India.
Selected Publications:Erik O'Donoghue, James MacDonald, Utpal Vasavada, and Patrick
Sullivan, "Changing Farming Practices Accompany Major Shifts
in Farm Structure," Amber Waves. November 16,
2011.
Wen-yuan Huang, William McBride and Utpal Vasavada, "
Recent Volatility in U.S. Fertilizer Prices," Amber
Waves, Vol. 7/1 (March 2009): 28-31.
Dayton Lambert, Glenn Schaible, Rob Johansson and Utpal
Vasavada, "The Value of Integrated CEAP-ARMS Data in Conservation
Program Analysis," Journal of Soil and Water Conservation,
Vol. 62 (2007): 1-9.
Michael Roberts, David Schimmelpfennig, Elizabeth Ashley, Mark
Ash, and Utpal Vasavada, "
The Value of Plant-Disease Early Warning Systems: A Case Study of
the USDA's Soybean Rust Coordinated Framework," Economic
Research Report, ERR-18 (April 2006), 46pp.
Robert Johansson, Joseph Cooper, and Utpal Vasavada. "Greener
Acres or Greener Waters? Potential U.S. Impacts of Agricultural
Trade Liberalization," Agricultural and Resource Economics
Review, Vol. 34/1 (April 2005): 1-12.
Joseph Cooper, Jason Bernstein, Utpal Vasavada and
Jean-Christophe Bureau, "The Environmental Byproducts of
Agriculture: International Policy Responses," in Global
Agricultural Policy Reform and Trade, edited by Joseph Cooper,
2005, 11-38.
John Sullivan and Utpal Vasavada, "
U.S. Environmental Regulation and the Location of Hog
Production," Agricultural Outlook, AGO-274 (September
2000): 19-23.
Mark Smith, Mark Peters, Utpal Vasavada, and Tom Worth, "
Curbing Nitrogen Runoff: Effects on Production and Trade,"
Agricultural Outlook, AGO-271 (May 2000): 19-21.
Munisamy Gopinath, Daniel Pick, and Utpal Vasavada, "The
Economics of Foreign Direct Investment and Trade with an
Application to the U.S. Food Processing Industry," American
Journal of Agricultural Economics, Vol. 81 (1999):
442-452.
James Hrubovcak, Utpal Vasavada, and Joseph Aldy,
Green Technologies for a More Sustainable Agriculture, Economic
Research Service, AIB-752 (1999).
Munisamy Gopinath and Utpal Vasavada, "Patents, R & D, and
Market Structure in the U.S. Food Processing Industry," Journal
of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Vol. 24 (1999):
127-139.
Munisamy Gopinath, Daniel Pick and Utpal Vasavada, "Exchange
Rate Effects on the Relationship between FDI and Trade in the U.S.
Food Processing Industry," American Journal of Agricultural
Economics, Vol. 80 (1998): 1074-1080 (Invited Paper).