Melissa G.S. McKendree

Melissa G.S. McKendree

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Associate Professor

Phone:
517-432-7640

Email:

Degrees:
Ph.D., Kansas State University
M.S., Purdue University
B.S., University of Florida

CV:
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Publications on Google Scholar

Personal Website

Dr. Melissa McKendree is an Associate Professor appointed in the MSU tenure system. Melissa is a Florida native who grew up working for her family’s landscape business, sod farm, and cow-calf operation. She has also lived in Indiana and Kansas. Melissa values all three land grant missions and has appointments in research, extension and teaching.    

Melissa’s has an integrated and applied agricultural economics program. She aims to create synergies between her research, extension and teaching responsibilities.  Melissa’s work spans the value chain from producers to consumers. She enjoys working on interdisciplinary teams, as exemplified in her work including a series of projects about producer adoption of different grazing management practices and integrated research and extension projects about the economic impacts of Bovine Leukemia Virus on Michigan Dairies as well as producer adoption of traceability technology.   

Another aim of Melissa’s program is helping producers make informed decisions and understanding how major market events affect their profitability. In this focus area, she has two American Journal of Agricultural Economics articles, Impacts of Retail and Export Demand on United States Cattle Producers and Oligopsonistic Input Substitution in a Thin Market. Melissa has also helped to develop multiple decision tools, including enterprise budgets, available through MSU Extension.  

Melissa is passionate about farm business management and understands the importance of accurate recording keeping systems to farms’ success. In the Fall semesters she teaches AFRE130, Farm Management 1. Furthermore, she is developing an online course for beginning farm managers, offered in both English and Spanish.   

Research and Outreach Interests 

  • Livestock economics 
  • Producer decision making 
  • Consumer choice behavior 
  • Food Marketing 

  Teaching Experience 

  • Teaching experience at Michigan State University: AFRE130 (formally ABM130) Farm Management 1 (Fall semesters, 2018-present) 
  • Teaching experience at Kansas State University: AGEC 420-Commodity Futures (Fall 2015)