The University of Nebraska-Lincoln Department of Agricultural Economics recognized Mike Miller, VP of Trading and Risk Management for Ardent Mills and Alejandro Plastina, Associate Professor of Ag Finance and RaFF Director, Division of Applied Social Sciences|Rural & Farm Finance Policy Analysis Center (RaFF) University of Missouri as recipients of its 2026 Outstanding Alumni Awards and the Nebraska Farmer Magazine as the recipient of its 2026 Outstanding Service Award at its annual Department Student, Alumni, and Service Recognition Banquet on March 10, 2026.
The three honors are awarded annually to individuals and organizations in recognition of their significant contributions to our department and Nebraska agriculture, which align with the department’s research, teaching and outreach in agribusiness, agricultural production and profitability, natural resources, rural development, international trade, and industrial organization.
MIKE MILLER
Mike Miller is Vice President of Trading and Risk Management at Ardent Mills, where he leads enterprise-wide wheat and mill feed price risk management and oversees trading and customer risk strategies as part of the senior leadership team. With more than 35 years of experience in risk management and commodities trading, he previously held key trading and leadership roles at Cargill and Horizon Milling. He has made significant industry contributions through service on the Foundation Board of Alpha Gamma Sigma, the Advisory Council of the JP Morgan Center for Commodities, and the Board of Directors of the National Grain and Feed Association, while also teaching Foundations of Commodities as an adjunct professor at the University of Colorado. Raised on a family farm near Clatonia, Nebraska, he earned an agribusiness degree from the University of Nebraska in 1990 and remains active in production agriculture as he approaches retirement in September 2026.
ALAJANDRO PLASTINA
Alejandro Plastina holds a Ph.D. in Agricultural Economics and an M.S. in Statistics from the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, where he earned multiple academic and departmental honors. He is the Frank G. Miller Professor of Agricultural Economics at the University of Missouri and Director of the Rural and Farm Finance Policy Analysis Center, focusing on farm financial management, agricultural policy, conservation, and risk management. His work includes major USDA-supported research collaborations with landgrant universities and policy partners, and he has received the AAEA Distinguished Extension Program Award, the Choices Magazine Article Award, and a Farm Foundation Agricultural Economics Fellowship. Before joining Missouri, he served on the faculty at Iowa State University, earning several institutional awards, and previously worked as an economist and senior economist at the International Cotton Advisory Committee.
NEBRASKA FARMER
Nebraska Farmer, founded in 1859 by future Nebraska Governor and Civil War officer Robert Furnas, is one of Nebraska’s oldest farm publications and among the nation’s longestrunning agricultural reporting titles. Former Governor Samuel McKelvie guided the magazine as publisher and owner for nearly 50 years, helping shape its longstanding mission to support farm and ranch families in improving profitability, caring for natural resources, and sustaining family life on the land. Today, the magazine reaches about 25,000 Nebraska farm households in print—and many more digitally—and continues its close partnership with the University of Nebraska–Lincoln and Nebraska Extension to help producers succeed.
For more information about the Department of Agricultural Economics, visit: https://agecon.unl.edu/
