Photo by Jerry Hagstrom, The Hagstrom ReportSugarMeet-RFP-081026VAIL, Colo. — Agriculture Department Chief Economist Justin Benavidez said here Tuesday that he has assigned one of his senior economists to study the retail sector for the first time. But he added that he has assigned Rebecca Nemec Boehm, a senior economist on his immediate staff, to study “the retail side.” According to her official USDA biography, Nemec Boehm “has expertise in how domestic food and agriculture policy impacts U.S. agricultural producers. Cotton and oil prices have moved together. When oil prices get too high, cotton is used as a replacement for oil, he said.