The purpose of this award is to recognize outstanding research by graduate students. Nominees must have completed a master’s degree at an institution within the Association’s geographic scope during the past calendar year. Only theses or graduate papers bearing completion dates within the past calendar year will be considered. One graduate paper or master’s thesis may be submitted by each institution with no more than one nomination allowed per department. PhD dissertations are not eligible. The evaluation criteria are: (1) Importance of the problem or subject, (2) significance of the results, (3) quality of work, and (4) effectiveness of reporting. Nominations must be made by agricultural economics departments within the geographic scope of the Association.

The purpose of this award is to recognize outstanding extension programs by members of the Association. Two awards may be given annually – one for outstanding project work which will be given to programs that are of less than or equal to five years duration. The second will be for career which will be given to programs that are of more than five years duration. Nominee(s) must be actively involved in programs of informal education for audiences external to the university. The program may be that of either an individual or a group of individuals working as a team. If given to a team, at least one member of the team must be a member of the Association. If given to an individual, the winner must be a member of the Association. The evaluation criteria are: (1) Importance of the problem or subject, (2) overall effectiveness of the program, (3) appropriateness of economic analysis, (4) effectiveness of communication methods, (5) evidence of accomplishment of objectives and positive impact on target audience(s). Nomination must be made by Association members and/or departments within the scope of the Association.

The purpose of this award is to recognize outstanding contributions to the Association’s journal. Only articles published in the Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics within the past calendar year will be considered. The evaluation criteria are: (1) Importance of the problem or subject, (2) significance of the results, (3) quality of work, and (4) effectiveness of reporting. The editor(s) and the editorial council select the article to receive the award.

The purpose of this award is to grant the highest recognition to members making an enduring contribution over their career to agricultural or other type of applied, resource, and/or environmental economics in the Western states and the WAEA. Normally up to three awards may be given annually. The recipient(s) shall be named a “Fellow of the Western Agricultural Economics Association.” Nominees must be a current member of the association, and have demonstrated active involvement over their career as a member of the association. Nominees must have demonstrated excellence in two or more of the following areas of performance: (1) basic and applied economics research, (2) integration of knowledge (textbook writing or synthetic reviews), (3) service or outreach drawing on economic expertise, (4) teaching (undergraduate and/or graduate), (5) administration or service. Nomination must be made by Association members and/or departments within the scope of the Association.

The purpose of this award is to recognize outstanding teaching of undergraduate students and related activities by members of the Association. Two awards may be given – one for more than ten years experience and one for less than ten years. Nominees must be members of the Association and actively teaching and related activities. Previous award winners are not eligible for the same award. The evaluation criteria are: (1) Personal interest in and availability to students, (2) mastery of subject matter (course content), (3) creativity in designing and using innovative teaching methods, (4) impact on learning based on student and peer evaluation, and (5) impact on departmental teaching program. Nominations must be made by Association members and/or departments located within the geographic scope of the Association. The nominator should submit a letter of recommendation, supplementary summary tables and other supporting items if desired.

The purpose of this award is to recognize outstanding research by members of the Association. At least one of the authors must be a member of the Association in the year the paper was published. Only research reports bearing a publication date within the past calendar year will be considered. Textbooks will not be considered published research for purposes of this award. Current year JARE publications are not eligible. The evaluation criteria are: (1) Importance of the problem or subject, (2) quality of work, (3) significance of the results, and (4) effectiveness of reporting. Nominations must be made by Association members and/or agricultural economics departments within the geographic scope of the Association.

The Association awards a certificate to one outstanding senior at each qualifying degree granting institution. Agricultural economics departments within the geographic scope of the Association shall select the recipients of these awards and notify the President who will issue each recipient a certificate.

This award recognizes two outstanding reviewers of the Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics. Two awards may be given: the first is the “Outstanding Article Reviewer of the Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics with seven or fewer years experience,” and the second is the “Outstanding Article Reviewer of the Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics with more than seven years experience.” Nominees must be members of the Association. The journal editors will select the two reviewers to receive the award.