James Sterns joined the Faculty of the Department of Applied Economics in 2013, in order to contribute to the Department’s teaching and research efforts in the general areas of agribusiness management and performance of agri-food systems. His prior work experiences include 12 years as a faculty member of the Food and Resource Economics Department at the University of Florida, where he was a core member of the agribusiness teaching and research programs. He also has worked internationally, including extended work assignments in Cameroon, France, Ecuador and Haiti. He is married and the father of three grade schoolers. Though born and raised to adulthood in rural Kansas, his grandparents owned and operated an apple and pear orchard in the Corvallis area, and his mother is an OSU alumna.