Dr. Tina Saitone is a Cooperative Extension (CE) Specialist focused on livestock and rangeland economics.

Dr. Saitone is a faculty member in the Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics at UC Davis, an associate faculty member of UC Rangelands, and member of the Giannini Foundation of Agricultural Economics. 

Saitone was hired as a CE Specialist in June 2016. Although Saitone currently focuses on topics related to livestock and rangeland in California, she has conducted research on a broad range of topics in agricultural economics including food quality and safety, agricultural cooperatives, industry competition, generic commodity promotion, federal and state marketing orders, and supplementary feeding programs such as the Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).

A lifelong Californian, Saitone grew up in Sonoma County, where her family established a vineyard more than 100 years ago.  She received a B.A. degree (summa cum laude) in economics from Sonoma State University and M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in agricultural and resource economics from the University of California, Davis.

Before returning to UC Davis in 2012, Saitone worked for OnPoint Analytics, an economic consulting firm in Emeryville, California, where she conducted research on a wide variety of agricultural industries including meatpacking, dairy, eggs, broilers, and sugar beets.

Saitone’s research has been published in leading academic journals including the American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Canadian Journal of Agricultural Economics, Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Annual Review of Resource Economics, Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy, and European Review of Agricultural Economics. Dr. Saitone has taught courses at the University of California, Davis and Sonoma State University in business and antitrust regulation, microeconomics, and environmental economics.