MANHATTAN, Kan. (KSNT) — How has the state of Kansas been affected by the Ukrainian conflict? Kansas State University is working to explain part of that question.

K-State will be holding a ‘mini-conference’ next week that will be exclusively focused on talking about the ramifications of the conflict between Ukraine and Russia and how that will affect Kansas’ agricultural markets. The conference will be held from March 7 to 11, Monday, Wednesday and Friday, with all sessions being held on Zoom and open to the public with prior registration. Each session will be from noon to 1:30 p.m. next week, with recordings of each discussion being available at a later date.

Professor in Agricultural Economics at K-State, Rich Llewelyn, who is helping to organize the conference, said that there is uncertainty about how the Russian advance into Ukraine will affect markets.

“The impact and implications of the Russian invasion of Ukraine are widespread and potentially long-lasting,” Llewelyn said. “K-State faculty will help to bring some needed understanding and clarification to the full ramifications of what is happening, could happen, and how it will affect U.S. agriculture.”

The faculty participating in the mini-conference come from K-State’s Department of Agricultural Economics and will be addressing the effects of the Ukraine-Russia conflict on macroeconomy, agricultural trade, energy and fertilizer markets, as well as grain and livestock markets.

The schedule and subject matter for each session of the conference can be found below:

  • Monday, March 7: Understanding Macroeconomic Effects by Brian Briggeman and Production and Trade Effects by Allen Featherstone.
  • Wednesday, March 9: Implications for Energy Markets (speaker to be determined) and Effects on Fertilizer Inputs by Gregg Ibendahl.
  • Friday, March 11: Grain Market Impacts by Dan O’Brien and Livestock Market Impacts by Glynn Tonsor.

Organizers of the conference have further remarked that, given the two countries’ importance to export markets and the relationship between energy and agricultural prices, the conflict will have a great impact on agriculture and food supplies around the world.

To sign up to join the free conference, click here. For more information on the upcoming conference, click here.