November 4 – Where Are We?
(9 AM Pacific, 10 AM Mountain, 11 AM Central, 12 noon, Eastern)
90 minutes
*Gary Brester, Montana State University, will discuss some of the factors creating the very risky environment many agricultural producers are facing and provide insights on thinking about strategies to deal with the volatility in day-to-day operational decisions.

*John Hewlett, University of Wyoming, will discuss “Strategic Risk Management in Agriculture,” a strategic planning approach to organize the process of risk management. This approach provides an ideal platform for organizing risk and risk management concepts. The Strategic Risk Management (SRM) process covers strategic, tactical and operational needs, decision-making processes and prediction and probability of outcomes. This 10 step program for strategically managing the five sources of risk includes the tools and worksheets necessary for implementation in today’s increasingly risky environment. The SRM process covered is accompanied by a web site and over forty tools to help implement the SRM process. These tools will be covered during the November 18th webinar.

November 11 – Where Do We Want to Go?
(9 AM Pacific, 10 AM Mountain, 11 AM Central, 12 noon, Eastern)
90 minutes
*Duane Griffith, John Hewlett and Jay Parsons will present “Risk Navigator” a set of tools providing the necessary equipment to begin implementing the Strategic Risk Management (SRM) process presented in the November 4th webinar. Each of the 10 steps in the SRM process is designed to help producers manage the five sources of risk faced by every agricultural operation. The process is cyclical and provides feedback and opportunities for re-evaluation as conditions change. The first three steps involve understanding the operator’s ability and preference for setting risk management goals. This tolerance for risk depends on their financial health and personal preferences. Available tools will be discussed that help producers through each of these steps. The middle steps are tactical, which include identifying risks and the outcomes for various management actions, determining the likelihood of each outcome and making an informed decision about how to manage any risks. The operational stage assures that what gets implemented is actually evaluated and reconsidered and that course corrections are made as necessary as the process unfolds. Available tools for these steps will also be briefly reviewed.

November 18 – How Do We Get There?
(9 AM Pacific, 10 AM Mountain, 11 AM Central, 12 noon, Eastern)
90 minutes
*Risk Management Resources for each region of US agriculture will be presented, with a panel on how to access these resources.

Pulling It All Together: Managing Ag Enterprises in Uncertain Times
December 2 and 9, 2009
* The December 2 presentation will pull together the messages the Webinar series has presented, how has the economic environment changed in the past six months, focusing on the help that is out there to help farm and ranch families deal with farming in uncertain times.
* The December 9 and 10 webinars will focus on the internet and other tools, that are available to assist agricultural professionals working with farm and ranch families, as they manage the many issues created by these very challenging agricultural economic environment.

To Participate Live in the Webinars: (no pre-registration is required – first come – 500 seats available)
• Equipment you will need: A computer that has a set of speakers and a high speed internet connection (LAN, DSL/Cable Modem, High speed wireless).
• Web link used for the entire series:
http://www.msuextensionconnect.org/aginuncertaintimesenglish/
• This web link opens a screen that has the “Enter as a Guest” option selected. Use this option and enter your name and then click on the “Enter Room” button.
• The start time for all webinars in this series is 9:00 am Pacific Daylight time. Please log on a few minutes early to view information about how to ask presenters questions and to make sure your audio is working.

Prior to the meeting date and time, test your computers ability to communicate with the system we will use. Visit the link at the right side of the screen “Test Your Internet Connectivity”. Follow the instructions provided.

All webinars and slide presentations from the June, September and October series are available for viewing at http://www.farmmanagement.org/aginuncertaintimesenglish/. All slides presentations for the current series are posted on the day of the webinar on this same website.

For additional information email, westrme@wsu.edu or call 509-477-2196.