Mariah Ehmke

I completed my PhD in Agricultural Economics at Purdue University in 2005.  I also hold a masters degree in Agricultural Economics from The Ohio State University and bachelors of Human Ecology from Kansas State University. My undergraduate education was greatly enriched by a year in New Zealand as the New Zealand Home Science Scholar in 1997. I grew up on a wheat farm in central Kansas.

 

My professional focus is research on institutional and behavioral economic aspects of food, agricultural, and environmental resource issues. The focal points for this research are widely distributed across problems related to human health, agricultural production, and natural resource management. Still, these issues are affected by basic, human decision processes and the institutional frameworks surrounding them. My most recent projects include research on government policy changes in wildfire management, pollinator (especially honeybee) habitat and the market for pollination services, and consumer food choices and nutritional information use.

 

I am passionate about several dimensions of my work, including the development of outstanding colleagues. In 2014, I received the Agricultural and Applied Economics President's Award in recognition of work to establish a profession-wide mentoring program.

 

Through all of my work, I enjoy collaboration with other scholars, including students. I am fortunate to work with graduate students from all over the world. I teach a few courses at the University of Wyoming, some alternating over multiple years. My course offerings include Agribusiness Entrepreneurship, Consumer Theory and Behavior, International Trade, and World Food, Agriculture, and Development. In Summer 2019, I taught an Honor's transdisciplinary course in Scotland. 

 

In my off-time, I have no shortage of interests. I am an avid swimmer and love puttering in the yard, kitchen, studio and workshop.