College of Agriculture & Natural Resources Department of Agricultural, Food, and Resource Economics

The Department of Agricultural, Food, and Resource Economics (AFRE) at Michigan State University (MSU) has had hundreds of students come through the master’s and doctoral programs as graduate assistants on assistantships. Through these work-study programs, students have worked as either research or teaching assistants, and have advanced research, economic policy, and classroom instruction alongside their faculty supervisors. This past year, for the first time in 75 years as a department,  AFRE partnered with MSU’s College of Agriculture and Natural Resources (CANR) to pilot the first-ever Graduate Extension Assistantship (GEA).

For eligible graduate students at MSU, according to the graduate school, “specific graduate assistant appointments are made in one of three categories: research assistants, teaching assistants represented by the Graduate Employees Union, and teaching assistants not represented by the MSU - Graduate Employees Union Collective Bargaining Agreement.”

However, MSU is a land-grant university. As a land-grant university, MSU has a three-fold mission which includes providing practical education, conducting research and extension (public outreach) services. The latter, extension outreach is how faculty and universities share research-based knowledge with the public to help solve problems and improve their lives. Graduate students at MSU have been serving the needs for education and research through their assistantships, but extension was not a primary assistantship opportunity for them. As a result, AFRE Associate Chairperson and Graduate Director, Nicole Mason-Wardell worked with Quentin Tyler, Director of MSU Extension and Senior Associate Dean for Outreach and Engagement, to develop GEA.

“We in AFRE are thrilled about this partnership with MSU Extension to pilot the GEA program,” Mason-Wardell shared. “To our knowledge, this is the first program of its kind nationwide. Through the GEA program, we can deliver more extension programming and outputs to MSU Extension stakeholders, while also providing graduate students an opportunity to gain deep extension experience and develop their outreach skills. We hope that this, in turn, will inspire more graduate students to pursue extension-related careers, make them more competitive for positions with extension responsibilities, and help meet Michigan’s and the U.S.’s future needs for extension professionals.”

Caitlin Nelson, a master’s student in AFRE, was the first individual to carry out this assistantship under the supervision of Molly Sears, assistant professor in AFRE. As a GEA, Nelson researched and collected data on irrigation practices in Michigan and developed extension materials to inform and engage stakeholders. This included work on the costs of energy used for irrigation, weather impacts on irrigation activity, and irrigated crop choices. 

Reflecting on the experience, Nelson shared, “I learned the importance of community and how collaborative relationships can enhance the impact of research. This experience showed me that meaningful progress happens when data is used as a tool to support decision-making across diverse stakeholders.”

Sears, as Nelson’s supervisor, was also able to observe her navigate the new position and grow as graduate student. Sears notes, “Working with Caitlin on this new Graduate Extension Assistantship has been an incredibly rewarding experience. She brought both strong analytical skills and a genuine interest in translating research into practical insights for Michigan’s agricultural community. Because this was a pilot position, there was a lot of learning and collaboration involved: from shaping project goals to developing outreach materials that connect economic analysis with real-world irrigation decisions. Caitlin handled the evolving nature of the role with professionalism and creativity, and built strong relationships with irrigation dealers, Extension educators, and farmers.”

All graduate students carry out a project, thesis or dissertation depending on the type of degree they are pursuing. Nelson under this GEA carried out a research project that examined the increasing use of irrigation in Michigan by mapping irrigation activity over a ten-year period to track spatial and temporal trends across the state. 

“Michigan agriculture has traditionally been rain-fed, yet we continue to see increases in irrigation use across the state,” Nelson explained. “To better understand what’s behind this shift, my project built a dataset connecting irrigation activity with factors such as weather variability and crop type, offering new insight into why irrigation is expanding in a water-rich state.”

Nelson’s project lays the groundwork for evaluating agricultural water use in humid regions of the U.S. It highlights where irrigation is expanding in Michigan and offers a way to assess how climate change and changing crop choices could affect future water demand. The dataset will be publicly available to encourage further research.

With the successful completion of the first GEA, excitement remains and continues to build within AFRE and CANR. A second GEA position has been filled and continues to build on the extension work Nelson and Sears began.

“MSU Extension is continuing to support the GEA program this academic year, and AFRE Ph.D. student Gerald Van Tassell was selected as this year’s GEA,” Mason-Wardell explains. “Gerald is working with AFRE faculty member and Elton R. Smith Chair in Food and Agricultural Policy, Professor Alan Ker. We are deeply grateful to MSU Extension for this support and hope to continue (and hopefully expand) the GEA program in the future. MSU has an amazing opportunity to become the leading university training the next generation of extension professionals. “

Sears also added, “This assistantship bridges academic research and Extension in a way that benefits everyone involved. For AFRE and CANR, it strengthens the connection between rigorous economic analysis and the needs of Michigan producers and policymakers. For the state, it delivers timely, data-driven insights on issues that important to producers that may not be supported from a traditional academic lens.”

As for Nelson, she graduated at the end of this summer and is excited for the next steps of her career as she begins the job search.

Nelson says, “Ideally, I would step into a research-grounded role where I can use my data analysis and research skills to continue to contribute to impactful projects, generate actionable insights, and support informed decision-making.”

There are more than 3,000 assistantships available for students interested in attending MSU for graduate school. To learn more about graduate school click here. To learn more about graduate programs within AFRE click here.