Willard W. Cochrane

Dr. Cochrane's distinguished career has spanned not only the continent but also a broad range of agricultural economics practice - academia, government and military. He began his career as an economist with the Farm Credit Administration in 1938. Following a year in the Navy, he worked for the War Food Administration in 1943. He then joined the Bureau of Agricultural Economics in 1943. He joined the staff on Pennsylvania State University in 1948 and, in 1951, accepted a position as professor of agricultural economics at the University of Minnesota. In 1965 he became dean of International Programs at Minnesota. From 1960 to 1964, while on leave from the University, he served as an advisor to President John Kennedy during the 1960 campaign and later as director of agricultural economics in the USDA and chief economic advisor to the Secretary of Agriculture. The USDA honored him with Distinguished Service Award in May 1964. He also served as vice-president (1954-55) and president (1959-60) of the AFEA. He was named a fellow of the AAEA in 1965.

Dr. Cochrane's contributions to the literature of the profession helped establish a new frame of reference for viewing farm price behavior. His prize-winning AJAE article, "Farm Price Gyrations - An Aggressive Hypothesis," evolved into a complete politico-economic analysis of the farm problem contained in his 1957 book Farm Prices—Myth and Reality. He is the co-author of three books, Economics of American Agriculture, Economics of Consumption and The City Man's Guide to the Farm Problem.