The Farmers & Ranchers College was formed in January, 2000 with the purpose of providing high quality, dynamic, up to date educational workshops for area agricultural producers in south central Nebraska through a collaborative effort between business, industry and higher education leaders. Furthermore, the Farmers & Ranchers College will provide the tools necessary so that agricultural producers will be able to respond positively to these changes using a profitable decision making process.
The Farmers and Ranchers College is a unique opportunity to educate agricultural producers in south central Nebraska. Four hundred producers from twenty counties and three states participated in the 2011-2012 Farmers & Ranchers College programs. Producers attending these workshops managed over 284,000 acres. Participants surveyed indicated an average of $12.12/acre of knowledge gained from participating for a potential impact of $3.4 million.
Contributions and support of area businesses allow participants to attend at no cost, however for programs that have meals, it is requested that people RSVP at least a week in advance for an accurate meal count by calling Fillmore County Extension at (402) 759-3712.
The Farmers and Ranchers College Committee consists of Fred Bruning of Bruning, Bryan Dohrman of Grafton, Sarah Miller of Carleton, Eric Milton of Milligan, Jim Donovan of Geneva, Bryce Kassik of Geneva, Gordy Nuss of Sutton, and Brandy VanDeWalle of Ohiowa.
2012 -2013 Farmers & Ranchers College Programming
- November 13, 2012 – Landowner/Tenant Lease Workshop – Fairmont Legion, 11-3:00, registration at 10:30 a.m.*
- December 10, 2012 – “Agriculture: What’s Around the Corner & Down the Road” Featuring Dr. David Kohl Professor Emeritus, Dept. of AAEC, VA TECH at the Bruning Opera House – Bruning, NE at 1:00 p.m.
- January 22, 2013 – “Partners In Progress – Beef Seminar” at the U.S. Meat Animal Research Center near Clay Center from 10:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., registration at 9:30 a.m.*
- March 14,2013 – Keeping Your Farm in the Family for the Next Generation” Featuring Ron Hanson, UNL at Evening with Friends in Milligan with meal at 6:00 p.m. and program to follow.*
* Programs are provided at no cost to the public, but registration is appreciated for a meal count. Please call the Fillmore Co. Extension Office at (402) 759-3712 one week prior to the program.
Views from VanDeWalle 