Department of Agricultural and Consumer Economics

What Department of Agricultural and Consumer Economics does

The Department of Agricultural and Consumer Economics (ACE) is an academic department within the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, formed in 1995 by the merger of the Department of Agricultural Economics and the Division of Consumer Sciences. ACE delivers undergraduate and graduate degree programs (MSc, MAAE, and PhD in Agricultural and Applied Economics), with nine undergraduate concentrations spanning agribusiness, agricultural accounting, consumer economics and finance, environmental economics and policy, farm management, finance in agribusiness, financial planning, policy/international trade/development, and public policy and law. The department employs 37 core faculty and staff and is organized around five research themes: Food/Agriculture/Commodities; Environmental and Resource Economics; Consumer/Household/Health Economics; International/Regional/Development Economics; and Policy and Law.

ACE's product portfolio includes FarmDoc Daily, a nationally recognized economic-analysis platform for farm businesses; CREATE, a research center producing discussion papers and the US Food Supply Chain Visualization Tool; the Data Infrastructure Project, an internal micro-data sharing platform for faculty; the Policy Design Lab, a collaboration with NCSA, iSEE, and the ACES Office of Research for federal policy evaluation; the Soybean Innovation Lab, AgReach, and ADMI, all focused on African agricultural development; and Innovation to Impact (i2i), a USAID-funded operational learning platform. The department's revenue is generated from four streams: university budget allocation, externally won research grants (USDA, USAID, NSF, foundations), tuition and fees routed through UIUC, and extension/outreach program fees. ACE serves students, farm businesses, policymakers, government agencies (notably USAID), NGOs, and international development practitioners across the US, Sub-Saharan Africa, Asia, and Latin America.

Name

Department of Agricultural and Consumer Economics

Legal name

Department of Agricultural and Consumer Economics, College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Website

https://ace.illinois.edu

Company type

Public

Founded year

1995

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Department of Agricultural and Consumer Economics is an academic unit at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign that educates undergraduate and graduate students in agricultural and consumer economics, conducts applied research through eight specialized centers, and delivers extension and policy-analysis services to farm businesses, policymakers, and international development partners.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Higher Education - Agricultural Economics

NAICS

Support Activities for Crop Production (11511), Technical and Trade Schools (61151), Other Technical and Trade Schools (611519)

SIC

Agricultural Services (700)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYAFAGALAA

Farm Management & Decision Support Software (FMIS, ERP, Recordkeeping)

Agriculture & Food Production/Crop Farming/Precision Agriculture Technology

SECONDARYEDAOAKAA

Professional Culinary Arts (Chef Training)

Education/Vocational, Technical & Trade Education/Culinary Arts, Baking & Food Service Training

SECONDARYAFACAJAH

Supply Chain, Marketing & Contracting Advisory (Grain/Livestock Marketing)

Agriculture & Food Production/Agricultural Services (Custom Farming, Agronomy, Veterinary)/Farm Management & Operational Advisory Services

SECONDARYAFACABAL

Carbon, Sustainability & Farm Certification Support (Agro-Environmental Advisory)

Agriculture & Food Production/Agricultural Services (Custom Farming, Agronomy, Veterinary)/Crop Consulting & Agronomy Services (Soil Health, Nutrient Planning, Yield Consulting)

SECONDARYIMAHACAH

Precision Agriculture & Farm Technology Equipment

Industrials, Manufacturing & Construction/Industrial Machinery & Heavy Equipment/Agricultural Machinery & Equipment

Keywords

• Agricultural economics education
• Applied economics research
• Consumer finance programs
• Agricultural policy analysis
• International development research

Headquarters

HQ city

Urbana

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. University Budget Allocation: As a department within the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign College of ACES, the department receives institutional funding from university and college budgets to support teaching, research, and outreach missions.
2. Grant and Sponsored Research Funding: Faculty generate external research funding through competitive grants from federal agencies (USDA, USAID, NSF), foundations, and industry organizations. Research centers within ACE (CREATE, Soybean Innovation Lab) operate with grant-funded projects.
3. Tuition and Fees: Undergraduate and graduate students pay tuition and fees to the University of Illinois, which funds departmental operations including instruction, advising, and student support services.
4. Extension and Outreach Revenue: The department's extension programs (e.g., University of Illinois Extension consumer economics programs) deliver continuing education and professional development, potentially generating revenue through program fees.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

ACE is an academic department that delivers undergraduate and graduate degree programs in agricultural and consumer economics and operates multiple applied research centers and labs. It produces public-good digital tools such as FarmDoc Daily and the CREATE food supply chain visualization, and runs international development and policy-design initiatives. Its primary audiences are students seeking economics degrees, farmers and agribusiness decision-makers, government and NGO policy partners, and international development practitioners.

Product overview

The Department of Agricultural and Consumer Economics (ACE) is an academic department within the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. ACE offers educational programs including undergraduate degrees (with concentrations in Agribusiness Markets and Management, Agricultural Accounting, Consumer Economics and Finance, Environmental Economics and Policy, Farm Management, Finance in Agribusiness, Financial Planning, Policy/International Trade/Development, and Public Policy and Law) and graduate degrees (MSc in Agricultural and Applied Economics, non-thesis MAAE, and PhD in Agricultural and Applied Economics). The department's research and outreach is organized into five thematic areas: Food/Agriculture/Commodities, Environmental and Resource Economics, Consumer/Household/Health Economics, International/Regional/Development Economics, and Policy and Law. Key products and services include: FarmDoc Daily (leading agricultural economic analysis service), Soybean Innovation Lab (international soybean development research for Africa), CREATE (Center for Climate, Regional, Environmental and Trade Economics focusing on climate change and environmental accounts), The Data Infrastructure Project (internal data-sharing platform for research collaboration), The Policy Design Lab (policy evaluation and development tool), Financial Planning Program (educational resources and career development), AgReach (smallholder farming initiative), ADMI Institute (postharvest loss prevention), and Innovation to Impact (USAID operational platform).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Undergraduate Degree Programs in Agricultural and Consumer Economics BS-level degree programs covering agricultural economics, consumer economics, and finance, designed for prospective undergraduate students at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.
• MS in Agricultural and Applied Economics Research-oriented Master of Science degree for graduate students specializing in agricultural and applied economics.
• Master of Agricultural and Applied Economics (MAAE) Professional master's degree providing applied economics training for early- and mid-career professionals in agriculture and related sectors.
• PhD in Agricultural and Applied Economics Doctoral program for candidates pursuing advanced research careers in agricultural and applied economics.
• FarmDoc Daily Online research and decision-support platform providing farm management, commodity market, policy, and tax analysis to farmers, agribusiness, lenders, and policymakers.
• Soybean Innovation Lab (SIL) Applied research and development program focused on soybean value chains, smallholder farmer outcomes, and donor-funded international development partnerships.
• CREATE Center Center conducting applied economics research on renewable energy, agriculture, and clean technology, including the U.S. Food Supply Chain visualization tool.
• AgReach International development program delivering extension, capacity-building, and smallholder agriculture support in developing economies.
• ADMI Institute Institute supporting agricultural development, dairy and food marketing research, and related applied economics initiatives.
• Policy Design Lab Lab producing economic analysis and policy design outputs for legislative and regulatory decision-makers on agricultural and consumer issues.
• Data Infrastructure Project Project building and curating economic data infrastructure to support agricultural and consumer economics research and outreach.
• Financial Planning Program Educational program focused on personal finance, household financial planning, and consumer economics instruction.
• Gardner Agriculture Policy Program Program producing research and convening activities on U.S. agricultural policy for policymakers, stakeholders, and the public.
• The Bock Program Program supporting applied economics research and student/faculty engagement on agricultural and consumer economics topics.
• Innovation to Impact (i2i) Program translating ACE research into practical field and policy impact for producers, agencies, and international partners.

Quantifiable outcome

• FarmDoc Daily is described as the leading information and outreach service for farm business economics in the nation.
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and major.

• Innovation to Impact (i2i)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerInnovation to Impact (i2i) is a program led by ACE Professor Peter Goldsmith that provides USAID an operational learning and management platform to support the shift of USAID's research for development strategy to the Product Life Cycle framework, improving sustained impact at scale from USAID investment dollars. The program is funded by and operates in partnership with USAID, serving as a major international development initiative within ACE.
• NCSA (National Center for Supercomputing Applications)coreTechnology or IntegrationThe Policy Design Lab is a collaboration among ACES Office of Research, iSEE (Institute for Sustainability, Energy, and Environment), and NCSA to develop capabilities to translate, apply, and integrate research from multiple disciplines to evaluate existing federal policy and develop new federal policy concepts, beginning with agricultural conservation, sustainability, and climate change through the Farm Bill Mapping Initiative. NCSA provides high-performance computing infrastructure for complex policy analysis.
• iSEE (Institute for Sustainability, Energy, and Environment)coreStrategic or Co-development PartneriSEE collaborates with ACE on the Policy Design Lab, integrating sustainability and environmental research with agricultural policy analysis to evaluate federal conservation, sustainability, and climate policy through the Farm Bill Mapping Initiative.
• ADMI Institute for the Prevention of Postharvest LossmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerADMI (ADM Institute) at UIUC focuses on alleviating poverty and hunger among smallholder farmers by fostering postharvest innovation, identifying impactful postharvest management solutions, and promoting research, outreach, education, and capacity building to reduce postharvest losses in grains and oilseeds. ADMI is a University of Illinois institute that operates as a key research partner within ACE's international development ecosystem.
• AgReachmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAgReach is a smallholder farming initiative that closes gaps in agrisystems so that smallholder farmers thrive. By maximizing the potential of people and technology, AgReach stimulates growth and increases food security. It operates as an ACE-affiliated international development program.
• ACES Office of ResearchcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe ACES Office of Research provides faculty with resources for catalytic leadership to prepare the next generation of professionals to meet global challenges. It funds the ACES Research Academy and provides grants and other resources supporting ACE faculty research.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Others

• Farm Foundation: Farm Foundation is an agricultural-economics policy think tank that sits adjacent to ACE, convening agricultural economists and producing policy analysis on farm policy, trade, and sustainability. It is an ecosystem peer that collaborates with and competes for visibility among agricultural economics thought leaders.

Direct peers

• Michigan State University - Department of Agricultural, Food, and Resource Economics: MSU AFRE is a parallel land-grant unit covering agricultural economics, food economics, and resource/environmental economics, with international development activity. It directly competes with ACE for students, faculty hires, and USAID- and USDA-funded research.
• University of Minnesota - Department of Applied Economics: Minnesota's Applied Economics department covers agricultural, environmental, and consumer economics with extension outreach comparable to ACE. It directly competes for Midwest students, USDA funding, and applied farm-management research output.
• Iowa State University - Department of Economics: Iowa State combines economics and agricultural economics research with strong extension and farm-management analytics output. It is a direct peer for ACE in grain-economics research, commodity marketing, and producer-facing decision tools, and competes for the same students and grants.
• Purdue University - Department of Agricultural Economics: Purdue's Department of Agricultural Economics is the closest land-grant peer to ACE, offering parallel undergraduate concentrations, MS/PhD programs, and extension/outreach services in farm management, agribusiness, and agricultural policy. Both departments compete for graduate students, faculty talent, and USDA grant dollars.
• Texas A&M University - Department of Agricultural Economics: Texas A&M Ag Economics is a major land-grant agricultural economics department with extensive extension, commodity-marketing, and policy programs. It parallels ACE in scale and competes for the same federal-grant and graduate-student pipelines.
• Ohio State University - Department of Agricultural, Environmental and Development Economics: Ohio State AEDE combines agricultural, environmental, and development economics in a single unit, paralleling ACE's thematic structure. It is a direct peer for graduate training, extension work, and development economics research.
• Kansas State University - Department of Agricultural Economics: Kansas State Ag Economics runs AgManager.info, a producer-facing decision-support resource analogous to FarmDoc Daily, plus applied commodity-marketing research. It directly competes with ACE for Midwest extension reach and farm-economics content leadership.
• Cornell University - Charles H. Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management: Cornell's Dyson School is an applied economics and management department that bridges agricultural economics, consumer economics, and policy. It is a direct peer for ACE in food and agricultural economics research, undergraduate concentrations in agribusiness, and applied policy work.
• UC Davis - Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics: UC Davis ARE is a leading agricultural and resource economics department with strong environmental and trade economics research, comparable to ACE's CREATE focus. It is a direct peer in graduate training and agricultural/environmental economics scholarship.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/aceatIL
• Facebookfacebook.com/ACEatIllinois
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/department-of-agricultural-and-consumer-economics
• Instagraminstagram.com/aceatillinois

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Subsidiaries8 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Department of Agricultural and Consumer Economics