Dr. Trent Blare is an Assistant Professor in the Food and Resource Economics Department. Prior to joining TREC, Trent was a Markets and Value Chain Specialist in the CGIAR international agricultural research system for six years with the World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF) in Lima, Peru and the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) in Texcoco, Mexico. Dr. Blare graduated with his Ph.D. in Food in Resource Economics from the University of Florida in 2014.
Dr. Blare’s extension and research program is comprised of two components. The first examines the potential for south Florida growers to expand their current markets and gain access to new ones for fruits, vegetables, and ornamental plants. He applies innovative behavioral economic techniques and experiments to determine consumers interest in these agricultural products. He uses the evidence from this research to work closely with growers, extension agents, processors, retailers, consumers, and regulators in developing supply chains for these goods.
The second area of Dr. Blare’s program uses non-market valuation methods to place a dollar value on south Florida’s natural resources such as waterways, protected areas, and clean air, that inherently do not have a market value. Establishing these values for natural resources assists decision makers, regulators, and administrators in determining where to focus their efforts and demonstrates the importance of these natural resources to natural resources users and other stakeholders.