MISSISSIPPI STATE-- A Mississippi State University economist has been named a Fellow of a nonprofit organization working to improve the economic health of agriculture.

Darren Hudson, an associate professor in MSU’s Department of Agricultural Economics, is a 2006 Farm Foundation Fellow. This is the program’s first year and the MSU economist is one of three named to the initial class.

Founded in 1933, the Farm Foundation’s mission includes funding and promoting research to produce practical tools for improving the well-being of people in rural America.

As a Farm Foundation Fellow, Hudson will devote approximately one month during each of the next three years to the organization’s activities. He will help identify new programs and lend his expertise in agricultural economics to the management of existing Farm Foundation programs.

“A specific area I’ll be working with is strategies for dealing with globalization and the impact of globalization on U.S. agriculture,” Hudson said.

A native of Oklahoma, Hudson earned a bachelor’s degree in agricultural business and economics at West Texas State University. He also completed a master’s degree and doctorate, both in agricultural economics, at Texas Tech University.

Contact: Dr. Darren Hudson (662) 325-7998