A Conversation with Emery Neal Castle

This article presents the transcript of an interview with the eminent economist, Emery Neal Castle. Emery discusses his youth in rural Kansas and how it shaped him and his career. After several years in the US Army Air Force during World War II, Emery returned to Kansas State University for his undergraduate studies and then completed his PhD at Iowa State University. He eventually landed at Oregon State University (OSU) in the mid-1950s, where he taught farm management and developed early courses in water resource economics. Emery and colleagues nurtured what became a world-renowned resource economics program at OSU. Emery also spent a decade running the nonprofit public policy research organization Resources for the Future in Washington, DC. Throughout his long career, Emery made significant contributions to three subfields of applied economics: farm management, resource economics, and rural studies. Emery has received numerous awards for his impact on the profession and the agricultural economy.