For Yangxuan Liu, her career as an associate professor of agricultural and applied economics feels like equal parts coincidence and fate.

“I was initially involved in agriculture because of my family farm in China. During breaks from school as a child, I would go visit my grandparents and work in their fields where they grow corn, wheat, cotton and other crops. This really gave me respect for the value of working the ground,” Liu said.

From medicine to financial health

Liu's early career goals were quite different. The daughter of a medical doctor, she was looking toward a career in medicine, studying science and technology in high school in the hopes of becoming a doctor like her mother. But because of the stress involved in the medical field, Liu’s mother encouraged her to follow a different path. Ultimately, that shift led to a career in economics.

“Initially, my family and I didn’t know much about economics, but once I started I was very interested. By the time I was applying to graduate schools, I was really trying to figure out what might be next for me. Then I saw a program at Purdue University that was focused in agricultural economics,” she said.

With her family background, Liu felt that agricultural economics was a great fit.

“Really, it’s in my blood. When I saw the UGA position I’m in now, I could see that it would be a great opportunity to focus on something I care about: sustainability in agricultural production,” Liu said.

Supporting Georgia's agricultural communities

In her role with University of Georgia Cooperative Extension, the majority of Liu’s work involves helping producers around the state use agricultural inputs more efficiently to maximize profitability. Her primary focus is on cotton and peanuts, where she works with production scientists to produce unbiased, research-backed resources for growers.

“Recently, we’ve been looking at how we can use cover crops to reduce erosion, increase soil health, and generally keep fields productive and profitable for farmers. With higher input costs over the last few years, I’m really trying to focus on working with these producers on enterprise budgeting so they can make decisions about their inputs,” she said. “With my background in economics, my strength is not going into the field to do field trials, it’s in developing economic tools and strategies based on the results from these field trials that producers can use in their own operations.”

Liu’s work supporting producers was recently recognized with the Farm Foundation Emerging Leader Award, which recognizes a person under 40 who is on the trajectory to make transformational change within the agriculture and food industries. Liu, who joined the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences (CAES) in 2018, has become the go-to expert for cotton and peanut economics in the state of Georgia. Even so, Liu credits her success in Extension to the teams she works with on a daily basis.

“I feel that this is an award not only for me, but also for my team. As an Extension economist, I don’t have the ability to specialize in one aspect of economics — we’re facing trade issues, weather challenges, labor concerns, insurance questions — so the ability to connect with other specialists within and beyond my field of agricultural economics really broadens my scope and ability to address the problems producers are facing,” Liu said.

Helping producers through economic uncertainty

Through Extension at CAES, Liu is able to tap into the knowledge of those around her, including agronomists, plant pathologists, engineers, and a host of experts in all facets of agricultural production. With that wealth of expertise, the tools Extension economists like Liu create are targeted for producers.

“One thing I love about Extension is that I get a lot of face-to-face time with producers where I’m not only able to give them information, but I’m also able to understand the issues they’re facing because they get to tell me directly,” she said.

Although her career in agricultural economics may have begun unexpectedly, Liu’s passion for helping others is integral in her work, both with cotton and peanut producers and with local residents in Tifton. When she isn't supporting agricultural production in the state, Liu works with the city of Tifton through the Tifton Financial Literacy Initiative, teaching workshops on budgeting, credit scores and savings with the goal of addressing challenges related to poverty and low homeownership rates.

“Tifton is a small city and the people are incredibly nice — it’s great to be able to work with residents in this way in the hopes that we can help them purchase homes and achieve financial security,” Liu said.

Honored by the award, Liu said she will continue working to support both producers around the state and her neighbors in Tifton.

For more information about Yangxuan Liu and her team's work in agricultural economics, visit the CAES Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics website.