Professor and Extension Program Coordinator
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, Virginia

Jim joined the faculty of Virginia Tech in 1988. His extension work focuses on the economic sustainability of agricultural businesses through improved farm record keeping and strategic planning, risk management, economic analysis of alternatives and economic consideration of environmental issues. He conducts research on farm profitability alternatives, economic and environmental tradeoffs of agricultural management practices and on water quality policy. He has received awards for his programs from the Journal of Soil and Water Conservation, USDA Farm Services Agency, Virginia Cooperative Extension Agents' Association.

Jim served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Honduras and has consulted with USAID, Winrock International, ABT Associates, and other national and international organizations. He is a member of the Scientific and Technical Advisory Committee of the Chesapeake Bay Program, and the Advisory Committee of the Southern Extension Risk Management Center. He grew up on a small cash grain-livestock farm in Iowa.