Director, Gardner Agriculture Policy Program Associate Professor of Agricultural Policy and Law, Agricultural and Consumer Economics Member, farmdoc project Affiliate, Institute for Sustainability, Energy, and Environment

Research Focus: Federal agricultural policy and law, including farm support and risk management, natural resource conservation, climate change, and biofuels.

Biography: Jonathan Coppess is an Associate Professor of Agricultural Policy and Law in the Department of Agricultural and Consumer Economics at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He is the author of The Fault Lines of Farm Policy: A Legislative and Political History of the Farm Bill, and frequently contributes to farmdoc daily on agricultural policy and law. Prior to joining the faculty at the University of Illinois, Jonathan served as Chief Counsel for the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry; he has also served as special counsel for the committee. During his time in Washington DC, Jonathan served as the Administrator of the Farm Service Agency at USDA and Legislative Assistant to Senator Ben Nelson.  Jonathan grew up on his family’s farm in Western Ohio, earned his Bachelors’ from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio and his Juris Doctor from The George Washington University Law School in Washington, DC.

Mission Statement: Jonathan’s experiences in federal policymaking guide his research, public engagement, and teaching in agricultural policy and law. His work incorporates history and political development to better understand federal agricultural policy. He also seeks to interpret and apply research to agricultural policy design and development.

Policy Design Lab