K. Bradley Watkins
Research Assistant Professor of Agricultural EconomicsUniversity of Arkansas Rice Research and Extension Center
2900 Highway 130E
Stuttgart, AR 72160
(870) 673-2661 ext. 225 (Phone)
(870) 673-4315 (Fax)
kbwatki@uark.edu
Background
Dr. Watkins is a native of Arkansas, where he was raised on a small hillside cattle farm in the Ozarks. He received a B.S. degree in agricultural business and a M.S. degree in agricultural economics at the University of Arkansas, and he received his Ph.D. in agricultural economics at Oklahoma State University. From 1995 through 1999, he was employed with the USDA Agricultural Research Service in Beltsville, Maryland, where he conducted economic research in the areas of sustainable agriculture, precision farming, and technology adoption. From 2000 through 2001, Dr. Watkins was employed as an industry analyst with the firm Frost & Sullivan (San Antonio, Texas), where he conducted market research and wrote syndicated reports about the U.S. food industry and other various markets. Dr. Watkins joined the Department in 2002 and is housed at the University of Arkansas Rice Research and Extension Center near Stuttgart, Arkansas with a split 75 percent research - 25 percent extension appointment. Dr. Watkins specializes in production economics and farm management. His research focuses on identifying alternative cropping systems, management practices, or technologies that promote the long-term economic sustainability of rice and soybean production in Arkansas.