His special expertise is the economics of swine production and processing. He received his B.S. (1977) and M.S. (1980) from the University of Manitoba and his Ph.D. (1984) in agricultural economics from the University of California, Davis. Dr. Zering has extension responsibilities in the areas of swine management and marketing. He has completed research funded by EPA and the Animal and Poultry Waste Management Center, titled “Economic Analysis of Alternative Manure Management Systems.” He currently conducts research on manure technology evaluation funded by the North Carolina Attorney General-Smithfield Agreement via the Animal and Poultry Waste Management Center.