Laurence M. Crane, Ph.D., Vice President, Education and Communication

Laurence Crane is Vice President of Education and Communication for National Crop Insurance Services (NCIS), a not-for-profit international trade association representing companies that sell crop insurance. He has responsibility for industry wide crop insurance education, training, and public relations activities. Crane also is actively involved in risk management education and is project director for several grant-funded research and education projects.

Dr. Crane joined NCIS in 1995 as Director of Education and Training. Prior to coming to NCIS he was an Assistant Professor of Agricultural Economics at North Dakota State University and Farm Financial Planning and Management Specialist with the NDSU Extension Service.

Crane was raised on a sheep ranch in Idaho. He holds bachelor's and master's degrees in agriculture economics from Brigham Young University, and he received his doctorate from Texas A&M University, where his dissertation, "External Equity Financing of Production Agriculture," received the 1992 Outstanding Doctoral Thesis Award from the Department of Agricultural Economics. Prior to joining NCIS, Crane was an assistant professor of agricultural economics and farm financial management specialist at North Dakota State University. He has written more than 100 articles on crop insurance, business planning, farm management and rural economics that have been published in scientific journals, technical reports and the popular press.

Crane is an Eagle Scout and participates in community service and church activities working with teenagers. He and his wife, Linda, have five daughters and live in Overland Park, Kansas.