Briefly

Gregory M. Astill joined ERS as a Research Economist for the Crops Branch in the Market and Trade Economics Division in 2016. His work focuses on production economics in the U.S. produce sector, including issues on food safety and the food safety practices used by fruit and vegetable growers and processors. His previous research has covered the economic feasibility of anaerobic digesters and complementary nutrient management technologies in dairies, technology adoption at the industry-level, and dairy production.

Education

Greg received his Ph.D. in Economics from Washington State University in 2016 and his B.A. in International Relations from Brigham Young University in 2011.

Professional Affiliations

Greg is a member of the Agricultural & Applied Economics Association (AAEA) and the 2019 Chair of the AAEA Specialty Crops Economics Section.

Selected Publications

Astill, Gregory, Travis Minor, and Suzanne Thornsbury. 2019. “Changes in U.S. Produce Grower Food Safety Practices from 1999 to 2016” Food Control 104(October):326-332.

Astill, Gregory, Travis Minor, Suzanne Thornsbury, and Linda Calvin. 2019. U.S. Produce Growers' Decisionmaking Under Evolving Food Safety Standards, EIB-210, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service, June.

Sabasi, Darlington, C. Richard Shumway, and Gregory M. Astill.  2019. “Off-farm Work and Technical Efficiency on U.S. Dairies.”  Agricultural Economics Published online May 23 2019.

Astill, Gregory, Travis Minor, Linda Calvin, and Suzanne Thornsbury. 2018. Before Implementation of the Food Safety Modernization Act's Produce Rule: A Survey of U.S. Produce Growers, EIB-194, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service, August.

Astill, Gregory, Travis Minor, Linda Calvin, and Suzanne Thornsbury. 2018. “New Survey Results Highlight Variation in Food Safety Practices Prior to the Produce Rule” Amber Waves, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service, August.

Motamed, Mesbah, Ashley Hungerford, Stephanie Rosch, Erik O’Donoghue, Matthew MacLachlan, Gregory Astill, Jerry Cessna, and Joseph Cooper. 2018. Federal Risk Management Tools for Agricultural Producers: An Overview, ERR-250, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service, June.

Hungerford, Ashley and Gregory Astill. 2017. “Applications for the Noninsured Crop Disaster Program Increased After the Agricultural Act of 201” Amber Waves, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service, July.

Hungerford, Ashley, Gregory Astill, and Anne Effland. 2017. Changes to the Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program Under the Agricultural Act of 2014: Their Potential Risk Reduction Impacts, EIB-172, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service, May.

Astill, G., and C. Shumway. 2016. "Profits from Pollutants: Economic Feasibility of Integrated Anaerobic Digester and Nutrient Management Systems," Journal of Environmental Management 184:353-62.