Nicolas Quintana Ashwell

Nicolas (Nico) Quintana Ashwell is Assistant Research Professor in the Department of Agricultural Economics at Mississippi State University (MSU). Since January 2019 he has served as the water economist for the MRVA Water Center—a joint initiative of MSU-MAFES and USDA-ARS—based at the Delta Research and Extension Center in Stoneville, Mississippi.

Education:

• Ph.D. in Agricultural Economics, Kansas State University
• M.S. in Economics, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
• M.B.A., University of Kansas

Research Interests:

Quintana Ashwell’s work centers on the economics of water in agriculture. He investigates optimal extraction paths for declining aquifers, the productivity of water in irrigated systems, and the adoption of water-conserving technologies. His recent projects integrate big-data analytics, on-farm trials, and behavioral surveys to inform policy and extension programming in humid subtropical environments such as the Mississippi Delta.

Publications at a glance:

Across more than 25 peer-reviewed articles since 2015, he has advanced understanding in irrigation management, cover-crop economics, climate-adaptive agriculture, and ecosystem-service valuation. A clear trend is the coupling of biophysical models with economic optimization to quantify trade-offs between yield, profit, and resource conservation.

Professional Memberships:

• Agricultural and Applied Economics Association
• Association of Environmental and Resource Economists
• Society for Range Management
• Southern Agricultural Economics Association
• Western Agricultural Economics Association

Extension & Outreach:

Quintana Ashwell authors extension bulletins, conducts grower workshops, and collaborates with USDA-NRCS and state agencies to translate research into actionable irrigation guidelines for row-crop and livestock producers.