Rate My Professor Lanier Nalley

Lawton Lanier Nalley serves as Department Head and Professor in the Department of Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness at the University of Arkansas, as well as Director of the Fryar Price Risk Management Center of Excellence. He earned a Bachelor of Science in Agricultural and Development Economics, with minors in Development Studies and Eastern European History, from The Ohio State University; a Master of Science in Agricultural Economics from Mississippi State University; and a Ph.D. in Agricultural Economics, specializing in international policy, from Kansas State University. Nalley began his career at the University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture as an assistant professor with an extension appointment in 2008. He served as interim department head in early 2024 before assuming the permanent role on October 7, 2024. His research focuses on production economics, particularly the Arkansas rice industry, global rice demand, hybrid and conventional rice varieties, rice quality effects on food security and sustainability, economic impacts of plant breeding technologies, and environmental outcomes in rice production.

Nalley has authored over 110 peer-reviewed publications, including 'Rice Quality and its Impacts on Food Security and Sustainability in Bangladesh' (2021), 'Quantifying the Agronomic and Economic Performance of Hybrid and Conventional Rice Varieties' (2016), 'The Benefits of Public Rice Breeding' (2018), and 'Economic Analysis of Hybrid Rice Performance in Arkansas' (2013). He has secured more than $6 million in competitive research funding and earned recognition as a Fulbright Scholar in Laos (2020) and a Fellow of the Agricultural and Resource Economics Association. His honors include three John W. White Awards—a 2013 team award, 2021 Outstanding Teaching Award, and 2023 Research Award—and the Jack G. Justus Award for Teaching Excellence in 2017. Nalley's work demonstrates global impact through contributions to rice genetics, food security, and sustainable agriculture practices.