November 25, 2009

"The Pulse of Ag and the General College" will be the first of this year's Farmers and Ranchers College programs offered by UNL Extension. The educational workshops are geared toward south central Nebraska agricultural producers and offer up-to-date information and tools to help producers respond positively and profitably during the decision-making process.

The 2009-10 Farmers and Ranchers College workshop dates, times, locations
and topics are:

• Dec. 2, 1-4 p.m. Bruning Opera House, Bruning, "The Pulse of the Ag and General Economy," featuring David Kohl, professor emeritus, agriculturaland applied economics, Virginia Tech University.
• Jan. 19, 10 a.m.-3 p.m., registration at 9:30 a.m., U.S. Meat Animal Research Center near Clay Center, "Partners In Progress - Beef Seminar."
• March 9, 9 a.m.-3 p.m., 8:45 a.m. registration, Fillmore County Fairgrounds, Geneva, "Managing Crop Revenue Risk," featuring Steve Johnson, field specialist, farm management, Iowa State University and Tim Lemmons, extension educator, UNL Extension.

Please register at least one week in advance. For more information or to register, call (402) 759-3712, e-mail bvandewalle2@unl.edu or visit the Fillmore County Extension Web site at http://fillmore.unl.edu.

The Farmers and 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.

During the 2008-09 programs, around 95% of participants said they probably or definitely will make changes based on what they learned from the programs.

Producers attending last year's workshops managed over 55,000 acres. Survey results indicate that on average producers estimated the value of the workshops at $19/acre, for a potential impact of over $1 million.

Cow/Calf College participants managed over 102,000 head of cattle indicating an average value of $20/head from attending the program for a potential impact of over $2 million.

UNL Extension is in the University's Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources.

IANR News Release