Oct. 31, 2014

The decisions to be made in the next few months regarding commodity program selection are very complex and will last for the duration of this farm bill. To provide growers with the information they need, UNL Extension and the USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA) are teaming up this fall to provide educational meetings about the 2014 Farm Bill.

The slate of meetings starting in the Panhandle is described below. Further information on meetings throughout the state will be available soon.

Topics will include:

• Farm bill program sign-up process, including the documentation needed and the deadlines for sign-up
• Base, yield and commodity program decision, considerations for your operation
• How to calculate farm program payments
• Tools to determine what program is best for your operation

Workshop Times and Locations

• Rushville: Oct. 21, 9 a.m., at the Methodist Church Hall
• Scottsbluff: Oct. 22, 9 a.m. at the Panhandle Research and Extension Center
• Kimball: Oct. 23, 7 a.m. at the Kimball Event Center
• Sidney: Oct. 23, 9 a.m. at Western Nebraska Community College Room #115-116
• Valentine: Oct. 24, 1:30 p.m. at Niobrara Lodge
• Box Butte County: Nov. 20, 9 a.m., location to be determined
• Chadron: Nov 20, 2 p.m. Chadron State College, Scottsbluff Room
• Bridgeport: Nov. 25 1 p.m., at the Prairie Winds Community Center

UNL Extension Educator Jessica Johnson and the local FSA offices will present information to help owners and operators make an informed decision. It is helpful if both the owner and operator of a farm can attend together.  Everyone is welcome.

Statewide, these meetings are sponsored by Nebraska Farm Bureau. Additional sponsors vary by location.

For the latest information about the farm bill visit farmbill.unl.edu.

For more information on these Panhandle farm bill meetings, contact Jessica Johnson, UNL Extension Educator at the Panhandle Research and Extension Center, 308-632-1247 or your local FSA Office.