Tag: farm bill

Crops, Irrigation, Programming

Farm Bill Programs

Brandy VanDeWalle

Nebraska Extension and USDA Farm Service Agency in Nebraska will host a series of Farm Bill education meetings over the next two months to assist producers as they begin to make farm-bill related program decisions. The 2018 Farm Bill, signed into law last December, reauthorized the existing Agriculture Risk Coverage (ARC) and Price Loss Coverage (PLC) safety net programs that were in the 2014 Farm Bill, however producers will need to make new program enrollment decisions over the coming months.

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Photo by cottonbro on Pexels.com

While the ARC and PLC programs under the new farm bill remain very similar to the previous farm bill, a few program changes coupled with changes in market conditions and outlook could significantly impact producer decisions.

“These meetings will help producers understand the programs and recent changes, as well as the decisions to be made at sign-up now and in the coming years,” said Nancy Johner, State Executive Director for the USDA Farm Service Agency in Nebraska. “There are some changes, such as an optional PLC program yield update, and other tweaks to the ARC and PLC programs that producers should consider as they make their selections.”

“Producers face a familiar choice between ARC and PLC, but under very different circumstances now as compared to 2014,” said Brad Lubben, Policy Specialist with Nebraska Extension. “Understanding the program mechanics, analysis and available decision tools will help producers make sound enrollment decisions with FSA.”

The joint Nebraska Extension and Nebraska Farm Service Agency producer education meetings are scheduled at numerous locations across the state from late November to mid-December in advance of the coming ARC/PLC enrollment deadlines in early 2020.

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The meetings are all free and open to the public. Advance registration is encouraged for planning purposes for materials and facilities. Attendees can register for any of the meetings conveniently on the web at farmbill.unl.edu or by calling or visiting their county FSA or Extension office. The educational programs are each set to run three hours in length, featuring information and insight from FSA specialists and Extension experts, as well as other relevant information from local agencies.

The meetings are available statewide with several locations in each region of the state. The schedule for programming closest to us is as follows:

  • Red Cloud – Community Center – November 25, 1-4 PM
  • Bruning – Bruning Opera House – December 5, 1:30-4:30 PM
  • Grand Island – College Park Fonner Park Room – December 5, 1-4 PM
  • York – York County Fairgrounds Cornerstone Building – December 6, 9 AM-12 NOON
  • Lincoln – Lancaster County Extension Center – December 16, 9 AM-12 NOON
  • Kearney – Buffalo County Fairgrounds Antelope Meeting Room – December 17, 1-4 PM
  • Beatrice – Gage County Fairgrounds 4-H Building – December 17, 9 AM-12 NOON
  • Geneva – Fillmore County Fairgrounds Ag Hall – December 18, 9 AM-12 NOON

Please check the website for updates on locations, dates and times. All times are local with registration beginning 30 minutes ahead of start. Several additional meetings also are being planned locally across the state in various locations. Keep alert to additional opportunities and details as they are developed by checking the website for information or by contacting your county Extension or FSA office.

There also are resources available online that can educate producers in their ARC/PLC decision-making process. Links to these resources are available from FSA at www.fsa.usda.gov/ne under the Spotlights section or from Extension at farmbill.unl.edu.

Source: Brad Lubben, Nebraska Extension Policy Specialist: Email: blubben2@unl.edu

Crops, Livestock, Programming

Public Forums Address 2018 Farm Bill

Brandy VanDeWalle

Producers, landowners and other agricultural policy stakeholders seeking information on the 2018 farm bill are encouraged to register for a series of five forums scheduled at locations across Kansas and Nebraska. Experts from K-State Research and Extension and Nebraska Extension will discuss farm bill issues and policy options, and gather input to share with policymakers to help inform the continuing developmentmoney bag

A new federal farm bill is due this year and is under development in Congress. With action completed on a federal budget including some agricultural programs, the farm bill process could pick up quickly with proposals and legislation fully debated in the coming weeks.The meetings will provide an overview of the current debate and current economic conditions in agriculture which help frame the discussion and will look at crop and dairy commodity programs, conservation programs, and nutrition programs and other policy issues, as well as proposed crop insurance changes.

Leading the discussion will be Mykel Taylor and Art Barnaby from Kansas State University and Brad Lubben from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Taylor is a farm management specialist with expertise in producer decision-making, including in-depth analysis of the 2014 farm program enrollment decision. Her analysis of past decisions and outlook will provide perspective on the commodity programs, the potential changes and the decisions ahead in 2019. Barnaby is a national expert in crop insurance with keen insight on the features and performance of crop insurance. His work will explore the proposed changes and the potential ramifications to the program and to producer crop insurance and risk management decisions. Lubben is a noted expert in agricultural policy with insight on both the farm bill issues and the process. He will help frame the debate and the expectations for new programs and policies to provide perspective on the broader budget and policy challenges facing members of Congress in writing the new farm bill.

Each meeting will run from 9:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Registration will begin at 8:30 a.m. with refreshments and lunch served. The closest meetings to our area include:

-MANHATTAN, KS.: March 1, Pottorf Hall – CiCo Park, Manhattan, KS     Host: Rich Llewelyn, rvl@ksu.edu or 785.532.1504

-MEAD, NEB.: March 5, ENREC near Mead, Eastern Nebraska Research and Extension Center, Ithaca, NE    Host: Keith Glewen, kglewen1@unl.edu or 402-624-8030

-HASTINGS, NEB.: March 7, Adams County Fairgrounds, Hastings, NE     Host: Ron Seymour, rseymour1@unl.edu or 402-461-7209

The registration fee is $20 if pre-registered five days before the date of each meeting, and will increase to $30 after the deadline or at the door. The fee covers the meal, refreshments and meeting materials. To register, visit http://www.agmanager.info/events/2018-farm-bill-meetings and clicking on the meeting you wish to attend. Further information is available on http://farmbill.unl.edu or by contacting the meeting host at each location.

Crops, Irrigation, Livestock, Programming

Crop Insurance, Farm Bill and More

Brandy VanDeWalle

Crop Insurance.png

Today’s farmers and ranchers not only have to be efficient with production practices, but also need to be well-informed with risk management and economics of their business. With that in mind, the Farmers and Ranchers College is offering the program, “Crop Insurance, Farm Bill Policy Update and More” at the Fillmore County Fairgrounds in Geneva, NE on February 23rd. This workshop will start at 10:00 a.m. with registration at 9:45 and will wrap up at 3:00 p.m. Due to the generous contributions of many businesses and organizations, the program is free; registration is preferred for an accurate meal county by February 16th. Call the Fillmore County Extension office at (402)759-3712 or email Brandy at brandy.vandewalle@unl.edu to register.

Speakers for the program will be Steve Johnson who has served as the Farm & Ag Business Management Specialist in Central Iowa for Iowa State University Extension and Outreach since 1999.  He specializes in topics related to government farm programs, crop insurance, crop marketing, grain contracts, farmland leasing and other crop risk management strategies. Annually Steve conducts more than 100 meetings, workshops, seminars and conferences across the Corn Belt with over 10,000 in attendance. Steve uses web sites such as ISU Ag Decision Maker and Polk County Extension Farm Management along with various print and electronic media. He will highlight 2017 crop supply/demand & cash price outlook, discuss 2018 crop cost estimates, planted acreage & weather outlook, highlight seasonal trends for new crop futures, learn to use a variety of marketing strategies & tools and develop & implement new crop marketing plans.

Brad Lubben, a Nebraska Extension Policy Specialist with Nebraska Extension since 2005, also teaches agricultural economics courses on campus and is the Director for the North Central Extension Risk Management Education Center. His integrated research, extension and teaching interests include agricultural policy, trade policy, food policy, conservation and environmental policy and public policy.  A native Nebraskan, Lubben is dedicated to the producers and students he serves. Brad’s presentation will focus on how the current ARC and PLC program has provided substantial but declining support for Nebraska producers. He will discuss the new farm bill due to be written in 2018, but will need to reconcile several issues and budget challenges to get done on time, whether a new farm bill is completed or current legislation is extended, producers can expect a new ARC vs. PLC decision in 2019 under very different market conditions and finally how producers will also need to follow a number of other policy issues under debate in DC and beyond.

Austin Duerfeldt specializes in farm accounting, financial analysis, and taxation.  As the Southeast Regional Ag Economist, he provides educational training on grain marketing, cash rent, land valuation, financial analysis, taxes, and negotiations. He will talk about the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (Farm Edition) in regards to S199A, depreciation, COOPs and other important factors that impact farmers and ranchers.

Ryne Norton, Fillmore County Farm Service Agency director will provide local FSA updates and Brandy VanDeWalle, Nebraska Extension Educator will talk about farm financial success and ways to cope during difficult times in addition to sharing resources for handling stress in challenging times.

 

Crops, Programming

Farm Bill Webinar

Brandy VanDeWalle

The 2014 Farm Bill provides agricultural producers with a variety of different programs and opportunities to participate; however, the decisions facing them have never been more complex. This bill is designed to offer more of a risk management approach to the federal farm safety net as opposed to the more traditional price and yield support. It is important participants understand how the 2014 Farm Bill works and how these programs may affect their operations. Nebraska offers some unique challenges relative to variability in the type of commodities and the practices in which they grown. In the Spring and Summer of 2014, agricultural producers will be offered an opportunity to update their base acres and program yields. It is important that they understand how these decisions work, to make a well-informed decision.

UNL Extension will be hosting a public webinar open to any interested party, to assist the producer with these decisions. The following are details on how to participate:

Name: Farm Bill Public Webinar
URL: https://connect.unl.edu/publicfarmbill/
Start Time: 10:00 am Central Time Zone
Start Date: May 21, 2014
Duration: 2 hours

Participants will need to have adequate speakers with their computer to hear the presentation. This meeting will also be archived for later viewing; however those connecting live will have an opportunity to ask questions of the speaker. Any additional questions may be directed to Tim Lemmons, Ext. Educator, at tlemmons2@unl.edu.