About
The Fryar Price Risk Management Center of Excellence
About
The Fryar Price Risk Management Center of Excellence in the Department of Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness at the University of Arkansas was established in 2020 with a gift from Dr. Ed and Michelle Fryar.
The Center is committed to developing an international program of scholarship embracing the University’s three-fold land-grant mission of research, teaching and outreach. Our work focuses on critical risk management issues facing the food and fiber system, with particular emphasis on products and industries contributing significantly to the Arkansas economy.
Mission
To deliver a stakeholder-informed, internationally-recognized research program in price risk management that improves decision making for farms and businesses, offers unparalleled educational opportunities for students and enhances professional opportunities for faculty and staff.
Goals
1. Conduct research to extend the frontiers of knowledge in risk management in the food and agricultural industries, and develop internationally-recognized expertise in the application of commodity and financial derivatives to the management of risk in agricultural product markets.
2. Educate students in advanced price and financial risk topics, including the application of insights from behavioral economics, to provide superior preparation for careers in agriculture and related industries.
3. Provide farm, industry, government and academic leaders with research-based information and tools to assist in decision making, offering regular updates on critical risk management issues through traditional academic courses, online courses, conferences, short courses and other methods of outreach.
The FRYAR CENTER Founders
Ed & Michelle Fryar
Ed Fryar, a member of the Arkansas Agriculture Hall of Fame, was the founder of Ozark Mountain Poultry, a business that grew to more than 1,800 employees and processed more than 1.2 million chickens per week. Ozark Mountain Poultry focused on antibiotic-free and non-GMO chicken products for retail and foodservice. Before founding OMP, Fryar was a tenured professor of agricultural economics for the Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences and the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture. Fryar has served on the Council of Economic Advisors for Arkansas governors since 1983. He is also a member of the Agribusiness Council for the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis and the University of Arkansas System Board of Trustees.
Michelle Fryar is also a University of Arkansas alumnus, with a master’s degree in rural sociology. Both Fryars received their master’s degrees in what was formerly the Bumpers College Department of Agricultural Economics and Rural Sociology at the University of Arkansas.