UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- Richard Ready, assistant professor of agricultural and environmental economics in Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences, has received the 2005 Roy C. Buck Faculty Award in the Agricultural Sciences for his article, "The Amenity and Disamenity Impacts of Agriculture: Estimates from a Hedonic Pricing Model."

The award recognizes the best refereed article published in a scholarly journal in the previous two years by an untenured faculty member in the college whose research involves the social or human sciences. Co-authored with Charles Abdalla, associate professor of agricultural and environmental economics, Ready's article was published in the May 2005 issue of the American Journal of Agricultural Economics.

The article described the results of a study that examined various land uses and their effects on nearby property values in Berks County, Pennsylvania. The researchers collected sale prices and other information on more than 8,000 Berks County homes sold between 1998 and 2002, along with information on nearby land uses. A geographic information system and statistical tools were used to analyze the data.

The study found that agricultural land uses that provide open space -- including grass, pasture and crop land -- can increase the value of houses located within a quarter-mile radius, while large-scale animal operations and mushroom production facilities lower the value of nearby houses.

"This kind of information can be used by local officials to evaluate the consequences of planning and zoning decisions and efforts to preserve open space in their communities," Ready says.

"Current land-use decisions are one of the biggest influences on the future of agriculture," says Bruce McPheron, associate dean for research. "We often think we know the answers to land-use questions, but this study puts solid scientific data behind the advice we can offer to planners and others. Rich's peers recognized the excellence of the study and its implications in selecting him for the Buck Award."

Ready joined the Penn State faculty in 2000. Previously, he was a visiting professor and researcher in the Department of Economics and Social Sciences at the Agricultural University of Norway; an assistant professor in the Department of Agricultural Economics at the University of Kentucky; and an economist in the Office of Policy Analysis at the U.S. Department of the Interior in Washington, D.C.

Ready earned a bachelor's degree in natural resources/fishery science from Cornell University. He received a master's degree in agricultural economics and a doctorate in environmental and resource economics, both from the University of Wisconsin.

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EDITORS: Richard Ready can be reached at 814-863-5575 or by e-mail at rready@psu.edu.

Chuck Gill Writer/Editor Phone: 814-863-2713 E-mail: cdg5@psu.edu