STARKVILLE, Miss. -- Three Mississippi State University agricultural economists contributed to a national academic report on the effects of COVID-19 on food and agricultural markets.

Members of the Council for Agricultural Science and Technology and the Agricultural and Applied Economics Association developed the collection of essays regarding COVID-19 and the nation’s food supply. Contributors with the MSU Extension Service were Josh Maples and Shaun Tanger.

Many economic sectors were shut down earlier this year to slow the spread of the coronavirus, leading to a recession. Agricultural areas affected by the recession examined in this report include consumer behavior, meat processing, major commodity crops, agricultural labor and finance, and food waste and insecurity, along with several additional market-related topics.

Maples, Extension agricultural economist, coauthored an essay on outreach priorities. Tanger, Extension forestry economist, wrote about the virus’ impact on the timber industry and wood products. Keith Coble, head of the MSU Department of Agricultural Economics and president of the Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, authored the report’s introduction.

Highlights of the report will be presented in a free webinar on June 29 at 11 a.m. To register, visit https://bit.ly/3dAtJJH.