Brownfield, MO
11-27-07
Wisner announces retirement from Iowa State
by Jerry Passer
An Iowa State University (ISU) economist who has provided grain marketing
information and advice to Iowa producers for nearly 41 years will retire December
3. Robert Wisner joined the Department of Economics in February 1967 as an
assistant professor and extension economist in grain marketing and outlook.
“Bob Wisner has been the preeminent grain economist in the United States for
much of the last 40 years,” said Arne Hallam, economics department chair. “His
analysis has informed the decisions of multiple generations of agricultural
producers and firms. He has provided exceptional service to farmers,
government agencies and agribusinesses.”
Wisner has made presentations at more than 2,200 conferences and meetings in
38 states and 18 foreign countries. He has authored more than 1,500
publications.
Over the past four decades, Wisner has become well-known as an innovator in
market outlook, and in analysis of marketing and risk marketing strategies. He
was the first, and still one of the few outlook specialists, to present probabilitybased grain price forecasts.
Wisner is recognized around the world. His writings on risk management and
marketing of genetically modified crops have been translated and widely used in
Japan and China and have helped shape research on identity-preserved
marketing in Europe.
Wisner, after a few months break, plans to do some work for the Agricultural
Marketing Resource Center on the ISU campus.