Rate My Professor Curt Lacy

Dr. Curt Lacy serves as Professor and Head of the Central Mississippi Research and Extension Center at Mississippi State University, where he holds an extension professor position in the Department of Agricultural Economics. He earned his bachelor’s degree in agricultural and extension education, master’s degree in agricultural economics, and Ph.D. in agricultural economics, all from Mississippi State University. Lacy’s professional career spans over three decades, beginning with his service as an area specialist for the University of Tennessee Agricultural Extension Service. He later advanced to associate professor and extension coordinator in the University of Georgia’s Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics. Returning to Mississippi State University in 2015, he assumed the role of regional coordinator for the Delta Research and Extension Center in Stoneville. Subsequently, he oversaw county operations as interim associate director for the MSU Extension Service before taking his current leadership role effective October 16, 2023.

As an agricultural economist, Lacy specializes in strategies to enhance production efficiency, reduce inputs, and promote environmental conservation, applying his expertise to beef cattle production, forages, ornamentals, vegetable crops, and row crops. His scholarly contributions include highly influential publications such as “The use of fly larvae for organic waste treatment” (Waste Management, 2015, co-authored with H. Čičková, G.L. Newton, and M. Kozánek), “Role of credence and health information in determining US consumers’ willingness-to-pay for grass-finished beef” (Australian Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, 2009, co-authored with W.J. Umberger and P.C. Boxall), “Cull cow management and its implications for cow-calf profitability” (Rangeland Ecology & Management, 2002, co-authored with R.D. Little, A.R. Williams, and C.S. Forrest), “Alfalfa management in Georgia” (University of Georgia, 2009), and “Blending polymer-coated nitrogen fertilizer improved bermudagrass forage production” (Crop Science, 2015). Lacy is a graduate of the Food Systems Leadership Institute and the LEAD-21 program, national leadership initiatives in food and agricultural systems.