Agricultural economists in the Southern region of the United States have met annually with the Southern Association of Agricultural Scientists (formerly known as Southern Agricultural Workers) for many years. In the 1960s, there was a growing awareness of the need for a reviewed professional outlet to reflect economic studies primarily applicable to the South. Through the Southern Agricultural Economics Association, the Southern Journal of Agricultural Economics (SJAE) was established.

The SJAE was established principally as an outlet for results of applied economic studies. First issues were comprised of the papers presented at annual meetings that were judged to be of journal quality. Dr. Rod Martin, ERS, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Texas A & M University, served as the first editor of the SJAE. Under the editorship of Dr. Martin, Dr. Gerald Doeksen, ERS, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Oklahoma State University, and Dr. John Nixon, University of Georgia, the Journal has emerged as an important professional agricultural economics publishing outlet.