Dr. Jacobson received his BS in agriculture from the University of Illinois in 1953. After serving in the US Army in Korea, he went back to Illinois to complete an MS degree in 1956 and a PhD in 1960, both in agricultural economics. From 1960-1964, Jacobson worked for the Federal Extension Service of the USDA as a Dairy Economist. From 1964-1992, he was a faculty member at Ohio State with primary emphasis on dairy marketing and a secondary focus on agricultural cooperatives. He earned the 1974 AAEA Published Research Award and was inducted into the Ohio Agricultural Hall of Fame in 2000. While at OSU, he took three professional leaves which included a Dairy Economist position at the University of California-Davis, a Visiting Professor role at the National University of Ireland (Cork), and a Visiting Professor role at the National Chung Hseng University in Taiwan.
