Clint Neill, who previously served as an adjunct professor with the department, has stepped into a new role as an associate professor. With a background in agribusiness and applied economics, Neill brings experience in business, research, and teaching, along with a passion for helping rural businesses and agricultural communities succeed. His work focuses on labor and behavioral economics within the specialty crop and animal health industries. He also recently completed a Master of Science in Global Health Science and Epidemiology at the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom.

In this Q&A, Neill shares what inspired his career in economics, his approach to connecting students with real-world challenges, and what he looks forward to in his new role.

Q&A 

1. Can you tell us about your background and what inspired you to pursue a career in agribusiness and applied economics?

When I was a kid, my dad decided to start a business. I watched him build that business and transform our lives as well as the lives of others in the community. During my summers off from school, I would work in his shop and learn a lot about what it took to be a small business owner, from managing different types of risk to navigating changes in the labor market and understanding the amount of work it took to make everything happen.

Those experiences made me curious about how economics played a role in his business. I also wanted to find ways to make rural business owners’ lives easier and help them build businesses they could be proud of while managing all types of risk efficiently and effectively. I would not be an economist today without watching the joys and struggles my dad experienced while building his business.

2. The Agribusiness program emphasizes preparing students for real-world careers through experiential learning. How do you approach connecting classroom concepts with practical experiences for students?

I focus on getting students out of the classroom through assignments or extracurricular activities, while also bringing real problems into the classroom. Having worked outside of academia for other organizations and built my own business, I am better able to bring real problems that need solving to students, and I am excited to work with them to find solutions.

I don’t have all the answers, and I think working with students to be creative while thinking deeply about a problem is what helps them learn and prepare for their next stage in life.

3. Your work focuses on areas such as risk management, finance, markets, supply chains, and entrepreneurship. What are some of the key challenges and opportunities you see facing today’s agribusiness sector?

I think the key challenge is sifting through all the information to make better decisions. Access to information is virtually free, but the ability to work through all the noise and use that information to enhance agribusinesses is a skill that is often not taught.

I also think there is a lot of technology being created to “solve problems,” but most of those inventions only solve one problem. Agribusinesses, especially small and medium-sized ones, do not have the time in their day to learn and use a dozen different tools. Truly successful inventions and business models will be the ones that solve multiple problems with one tool or service.

My goal is to help develop solutions through research and teaching that keep in mind that time is our most scarce resource.

4. This position involves building relationships with students, industry partners, Extension professionals, faculty, and staff. How do you hope to collaborate with the Virginia Tech community, Extension agents, and our stakeholders?

I hope to collaborate first by listening and then through collective action. If we are to work together to solve the toughest problems in agriculture and rural communities, we first have to be willing to listen and not assume we already know the problem or the solution.

By working together after truly understanding the needs of those we serve, we can help everyone succeed.

5. What are you most excited about as you begin this next chapter at Virginia Tech, and what do you hope students and colleagues will learn about you?

I am most excited to work with students to build a future they are excited about and to work with people across the university to solve real challenges facing communities and businesses.

Virginia Tech’s motto, Ut Prosim, is what being a professor is all about for me. I am passionate about serving people in the community, across the state, and throughout the global agricultural industry for a better future.

6. Is there anything else you would like students and colleagues to know about your work and research interests?

While my position is quite broad in the areas I support, my main areas of focus are labor and behavioral economics within the specialty crop and animal health industries. I also recently completed a Master of Science in Global Health Science and Epidemiology at Oxford University in the UK, and I am really excited to bring a new perspective and skill set to the challenges within those industries.