ABSTRACT
This chapter reviews important environmental changes within the agricultural economics profession. It attempts to relate some of these changes to policy issues relevant to black agricultural economists, given the findings of the Committee on Opportunities and Status of Blacks in Agricultural Economics. Agricultural economics program environment undoubtedly impacts the current and future labor market situations for black agricultural economists. The agricultural economics profession must find innovative and pragmatic ways of providing increased financial assistance to black graduate students if it is genuinely concerned about the supply of black professionals. At the graduate level, black graduate enrollment represents a small proportion of total graduate agricultural economics enrollment. It is recognized that tight agricultural economics budget could pose a major constraint to increase and competitive financial support for black graduate students. Some graduate agricultural economics departments reported innovative programs for granting admission and financial support to black students based on criteria other than the Graduate Record Examination scores.
