Kade
As a research analyst at Decision Innovation Solutions, Kade is responsible for conducting economic impact and contribution analysis, conducting commodity flow analysis, writing reports, and data management and analysis. These are all utilized to assist clients in making informed and strategic business decisions.
Kade was raised on a family farm in the small town of Oberlin, Kansas. His family grew wheat, corn, and raised cattle. During his growing-up years he worked on the family farm and participated in 4-H. From these and other experiences he has developed a great passion for the ag industry.
Kade received a B.S. degree in economics with a minor in mathematics from Kansas State University in Manhattan, Kansas. In the pursuit of his undergraduate degree, Kade took many opportunities to further his professional development. As an undergraduate research assistant, Kade participated in an empirical research project studying education and labor market outcomes. He also improved process efficiency with the automation of a weekly task through script writing—a skill he continued to develop within coursework using STATA and R.
Kade completed a study abroad at the Universidad Carlos III de Madrid in Madrid, Spain. This provided an enriching environment for him to further develop his Spanish skills. Kade also completed an economics internship at the Kansas Department of Agriculture (KDA). He was predominantly responsible for gathering and cleaning data, along with creating an agricultural economic contribution report for each county in the state of Kansas. He was also involved in various projects including: updating a compilation of agricultural statistics available on the KDA’s website, research into rural broadband availability, and assisting with the Kansas hay report.
Education:
- Kansas State University, B.S Economics with a minor in Mathematics
Expertise:
- Economic Contribution & Impact Studies
- Mapping & Spatial Analysis
Posts by: Kade
ViewNational Distribution of Dry Bean Production
by Kade Grafel
While not as widely grown as corn, soybeans, or wheat, dry beans (such as kidney, navy, pinto, and black beans) are an essential crop grown…
ViewLooking at the Latest IMPLAN Data
by Kade Grafel
The latest IMPLAN dataset, based on 2023 data, was released at the tail end of 2024. Thanks to several updates to the data used to…
ViewEstimating the Economic Impact of the Virginia Boar’s Head Plant Closure
by Kade Grafel
Boar’s Head, a large producer of deli meats and other food products, has recently announced that it will close its facility in Jarratt, Virginia, following…
- View
An Overview of the New IMPLAN Data
by Kade Grafel
IMPLAN's newest dataset was released at the end of November 2023. This dataset, based on 2022 data, is the most recent snapshot of economic activity…
- View
Estimating the Economic Impact of the Recent Auto Worker Strikes
by Kade Grafel
The United Auto Workers (UAW), a union of American automobile manufacturing workers, has recently reached a deal with the “big three” US-based automakers: General Motors,…
- View
Relative Presence of Food Deserts in the United States
by Kade Grafel
The U.S. Department of Agriculture Economic Research Service publishes the Food Access Research Atlas, which is a dataset measuring areas of the U.S. that have…