Dr. Ezra Butcher, Assistant Professor of Economics
Tell us a little bit about yourself.
I grew up in a small town called De Soto, about an hour south of St. Louis, Missouri. I played football in high school and college (briefly) at Truman State University, where I met my wife Kassidy and joined the Alpha Gamma Rho (agricultural) fraternity. After undergrad, I worked for a couple years in data-centric roles on the Decision Science team at Post Holdings, a Fortune 500 company in St. Louis that specializes in breakfast foods. I led several projects in manufacturing efficiency, demand forecasting, and citizen data science. More importantly, we adopted our Husky-Shepherd mix Cato in 2018. In 2020, when Kassidy finished pharmacy school, I returned to Iowa State University for a Ph.D. in Economics.
Describe your teaching style.
Two things: active learning and student engagement. Nothing is worse than listening to a professor read off the PowerPoint slides鈥攐r, worse, a textbook鈥攆or an hour. I like a dialogue in the classroom where students participate in the lectures. As a teacher, this helps me make adjustments in real time so that every class is a positive experience for the students.
What are your current research interests?
My research broadly focuses on the agri-food sector, and my specialty is livestock marketing (how pigs and cows are bought and sold). Iowa is the top pork producing state in the U.S., so a lot of my work is centered around the pork supply chain. My paper on hog and pig markets, which some students may remember from my campus visit, was recently accepted at a journal. Other current projects look at market power in pork processing and the usefulness of public information in cattle markets. My best-known research (as of now) is the economic value of swine manure鈥攁sk me about pig poop!
What do you bring to the classroom that is uniquely yours?
A mix of passion for students, work experience outside of academia, and personality.
How do you define success in the classroom?
Everything I do as a teacher should be tailored toward students鈥� success in life. If students are excited about learning, take away core concepts, develop marketable skills, and translate that into the real world, I would count that as a win.
What are you most looking forward to at 91社区 and at Romain College of Business?
There is a strong sense of collegiality and shared mission of providing the best education to students. I鈥檓 encouraged by the growth-oriented vision of leaders in the Romain College of Business and its commitment to innovation.
What do you like to do in your free time?
I鈥檓 sort of the quintessential Midwesterner. I enjoy fishing, hunting, working on cars鈥攁sk me about my Miata!鈥攁nd just general tinkering and working with my hands. Oh, and I do CrossFit.
What are three things on your bucket list?
Touring WWI battlefields throughout Europe and Asia
Catching up on sleep (and a road trip up California鈥檚 Highway 1 in a convertible)
Buying and restoring an International Scout II
A 鈥渇un fact鈥� about you.
I鈥檓 6鈥�4鈥� and had a mullet before it was cool.
Published August 11, 2025