Benavidez appointed US Department of Agriculture chief economist
Texas A&M former student leads market, policy and global agricultural decisions at USDA.
Former student Dr. Justin Benavidez recently returned to the main campus in College Station to speak at the 71st annual Texas A&M Beef Cattle Short Course. Benavidez is the U.S. Department of Agriculture chief economist.
A Texas A&M University former student has taken on a key role in the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), displaying his adherence to the Aggie Core Values of leadership, excellence and integrity.
In January, Dr. Justin Benavidez ’13, ’16, ’18 was named USDA chief economist by Secretary of Agriculture Brooke L. Rollins ’94. The Office of the Chief Economist provides independent economic analysis to inform USDA decision-making, including market outlooks, policy evaluation and global agricultural assessments that support U.S. agriculture and food systems.
As USDA chief economist, Benavidez leads the department’s economic analysis and forecasting efforts, ensuring USDA policies and programs continue to be informed by sound, data-driven economic research that supports America’s farmers, ranchers and rural communities, according to a USDA press release.
Prior to being named chief economist for the USDA, Benavidez served as chief economist for the majority staff of the U.S. House Committee on Agriculture, where he provided economic analysis on farm bill policy, commodity markets and agricultural legislation. Very early in his career, he interned at the same committee, conducting econometric modeling and price prediction and assisting in economic policy analysis, specifically related to crop insurance and the actual production history adjustment.
Before becoming chief economist for the agriculture committee’s majority staff in Washington, D.C., Benavidez served as the AgriLife Extension economist in the Texas Panhandle, based at the Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Extension Center at Amarillo. He focused primarily on farm and ranch management, production economics and policy analysis. He also completed a fellowship with AgriLife Extension in the Texas A&M Department of Agricultural Economics and the Agriculture and Food Policy Center at Texas A&M in College Station in 2018. While a graduate assistant, he provided research assistance for a USDA grant to examine the economic impacts of pioneering beef processing technology to mitigate E. coli.
A Tulia native, Benavidez earned his bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees in agricultural economics at Texas A&M, with specializations in livestock economics and agricultural policy. He also has a certificate in international trade and agriculture.
Benavidez is ready to serve America’s farmers in our nation’s capital, standing as a powerful force for good.
