Webinars by Topic: (click a title to see the list of speakers for each topic covered)
| Operating in the Face of Uncertain Credit | Managing in the Face of Uncertain Markets | Families Facing Uncertainty in Agriculture | Operating in Risky Environments | Managing Enterprises in Uncertain times | Managing Volatility In Agriculture | Ag and the Tax Relief Act of 2010 | Farmers Dealing with the Commercialization of Cellulosic Biofuels | Regional Perspectives on Economic Forces Shaping Land Asset Values | The Speed of Change National Webconference |

---

Operating in the face of uncertain credit

| David Kohl | Jay Penick | Curt Covington | Chris Beyerhelm | Cori Price | Robert Syron | Joel Lorenzen | Duane Griffith | Dale Nordquist | Emcee – Jon Newkirk |
Click on the name of an Operating in the Face of Uncertain Credit speaker to learn more about them. – Back to Top -

Operating in the face of uncertain credit
David Kohl – June 9th, 2009

David Kohl received his M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Agricultural Economics from Cornell University. For 25 years, Kohl was Professor of Agricultural Finance and Small Business Management and Entrepreneurship in the Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics at Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Virginia. He was on special leave with the Royal Bank of Canada working on advanced initiatives for two years, and also assisted in the launch of the successful entrepreneurship program at Cornell University. Kohl retired from teaching in 2003 and is Professor Emeritus in the AAEC Department at Virginia Tech.

Kohl has traveled over 7 million miles throughout his professional career! He has conducted more than 5,000 workshops and seminars for agricultural groups such as bankers, Farm Credit, FSA, and regulators, as well as producer and agribusiness groups. He has published four books and over 1,000 articles on financial and business-related topics in journals, extension, and other popular publications. Kohl regularly writes for Ag Lender and Soybean Digest.

He has received 11 major teaching awards while teaching over 10,000 students, and 15 major Extension and Public Service awards from Virginia Tech, Cornell University, and state and national organizations. Kohl is a two-time recipient of the prestigious American Agricultural Economics Association’s Outstanding Teaching Award. Kohl is only one of five professors in the 90-year plus history of the Association to receive the award twice. He received the Governor’s award for his distinguished service to Virginia agriculture, the youngest recipient to receive this award.

Kohl has addressed the American Bankers Agricultural Conference for over 30 consecutive years, and has appeared before numerous state bankers’ schools and conferences throughout the U.S., Canada, Mexico, and the world. He has also been one of the top rated instructors at the LSU and Colorado Graduate Schools of Banking, and is Chancellor of Farm Credit University, which has trained over 700 lenders using an online and face-to-face educational approach.

As facilitator of the United States Farm Financial Standards Task Force and member of the Canadian Agricultural Financial Standards Task Force, Dr. Kohl was one of the leaders in establishing guidelines for the standardized reporting and analysis of agricultural producers’ financial information on a national and international basis. Recently, a $2 million endowed Chair of Agribusiness Management and Finance was established at Virginia Tech in the name of Dr. Kohl. This was in honor of his long-term commitment to teaching, research, and extension, and is one of only four such Chairs in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Virginia Tech.

If you would like to keep up with Kohl’s information and perspectives, you can find his weekly columns on the following websites:

Ag Globe Trotter: www.farm-credit.com

Road Warrior of Agriculture: www.cornandsoybeandigest.com

Kohl is currently President of AgriVisions, LLC, a knowledge-based consulting business providing cutting-edge programs to leading agricultural organizations worldwide. He is also business coach and part owner of Homestead Creamery, a value added dairy business in the Blue Ridge Mountains.

On a more personal note, Dave enjoys playing basketball and likes most sports, farms, dogs, and covered bridges; he dislikes lazy students, administrative bureaucracies, and paperwork!

| Back to the Operating in the Face of Uncertain Credit Speaker List |

Operating in the face of uncertain credit
Jay Penick – June 10th, 2009

Jay Penick was raised on a cattle and grain farm near Hebron, Ohio. He graduated from Ohio State University with a degree in agricultural economics.

Jay’s Farm Credit career began in 1977 in the Louisville Farm Credit district. Since September 1989, Jay has been President and Chief Executive Officer for Northwest Farm Credit Services, an Agricultural Credit Association. In this position, he is responsible for approximately a $9 billion loan portfolio of loans to farmers, ranchers, commercial fishermen, timber producers, agribusinesses, and rural home owners in Montana, Idaho, Oregon, Washington, and Alaska. He supervises the operations of over 550 employees in 47 offices and the association headquarters office in Spokane, Washington.

Jay is past chairman of the Farm Credit System President’s Planning Committee and trustee and former member of the Executive Committee for the Spokane Regional Chamber. He is a past president of the Farm Financial Standards Council and is a graduate and former advisor to the Farm Credit Executive Institute and a member of the Board for Financial Partners, Inc.

Jay and his wife, Pam, have three children and six grandchildren.
| Back to the Operating in the Face of Uncertain Credit Speaker List |

Operating in the face of uncertain credit
Curt Covington – June 10th, 2009

Curt Covington is a Senior Vice President and Credit Risk Manager for the Ag and Rural Banking Division – Bank of the West in Fresno, California. Curt has 28 years of agricultural banking experience and is responsible for managing the risk of a $3.2 billion agriculture/agribusiness loan portfolio.

Curt was born and raised in Selma, California. He earned his undergraduate degree in finance from the University of Southern California and his Masters in Agribusiness from Santa Clara University.

Since 1984, Curt has served as an adjunct faculty member in the Department of Agricultural Economics at California State University, Fresno, teaching managerial accounting and finance classes.

Prior to coming to Bank of the West, Curt spent a good part of his early banking career in the Farm Credit system followed by a period as a credit administrator with Rabobank. Curt serves as Vice Chairman of the American Bankers Association Ag and Rural Bankers Executive Committee and Co-Chairman of the Agricultural Lending Institute.
| Back to the Operating in the Face of Uncertain Credit Speaker List |

Operating in the face of uncertain credit
Chris Beyerhelm – June 10th, 2009

Chris Beyerhelm is the Assistant Deputy Administrator for Farm Loan Programs with the Farm Service Agency (FSA) located in Washington D.C. Chris grew up in rural Iowa. After graduating from Simpson College in 1980 with a BS in business administration he began work for the Farmers Home Administration (FmHA) working as a loan officer.

In 1983 he became the Farm Loan Manager in Lucas County Iowa moving on to become a credit specialist in the FmHA state office in 1985. In 1991 he became the Farm Loan Program Chief responsible for a $650 M loan portfolio.

In 2006 he accepted the position of Assistant Deputy Administrator for Farm Loan Programs in Washington D.C. In this position he is charged with assisting in the administration of a $16 Billion agricultural credit portfolio delivered throughout the United States.

| Back to the Operating in the Face of Uncertain Credit Speaker List |

Operating in the face of uncertain credit
Cori Price – June 17th, 2009

Cori Price is a Vice President, Senior Commercial Loan Officer with South Valley Bank & Trust. She has twelve years of experience in commercial and agricultural lending.

Cori has a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with an accounting focus from Western Oregon University in Monmouth, Oregon. She has pursued specialized training in agricultural lending by graduating from Western Agricultural Banking School at Washington State University.

Cori serves on the American Bankers Association’s Agricultural and Rural Bankers Committee. She is involved in her local community serving on numerous boards.

Cori and her husband along with their six year old son own a small hay and cattle ranch in Lakeview, Oregon.
| Back to the Operating in the Face of Uncertain Credit Speaker List |

Operating in the face of uncertain credit
Robert Syron – June 17th, 2009

Robert was raised and worked on a dryland small grains farm on the Palouse prairie in North Central Idaho Graduated from University of Idaho, BS in Ag Econ.

He worked on family farm until joining Farm Credit System in 1978. He started in Southern Idaho and eventually moved to Spokane Washington where the headquarters of Northwest Farm Credit Services is located. He held several positions in Farm Credit beginning at the loan officer level and eventually promoted to Vice President. During the last few years in Farm Credit he worked with large customers and also selling third party grower financing programs to agricultural supply companies such as Wilbur-Ellis Company.

He left Farm Credit in 2000 to join Wilbur-Ellis Company as a credit manager in the Pacific Northwest. Since 2000 he has been promoted with increased responsibilities to his present position as Director of Credit for Wilbur-Ellis Company. Wilbur-Ellis Company is a privately owned company and is the third largest agricultural fertilizer, chemical and seed supplier in the US. They also have a Feed Division in Canada and Western US, and an Import/Export Division with offices in the Pacific Rim. Wilbur-Ellis Company is a $2.5 Billion sales company that has been profitable since its beginning in 1921. The credit department consists of 21 employees located in the US. Its function is to be a resource to the sales team, determining credit worthiness of their customers and collection of delinquent accounts receivable.

The success of the credit function in Wilbur-Ellis Company has been the close partnering of the sales and credit departments. Albeit, there is a division of duties and responsibilities, the partnership has actually resulted in an improved quality of the customer base and the accounts receivable. Wilbur-Ellis Company has taken a proactive and forward thinking approach to credit by picking the right customers and completing an appropriate level of due diligence of their customers in advance. This approached has resulted in a more efficient credit function and less losses compared to previously considering any sale a good sale and experiencing more collection costs and ultimately an increase in bad debt expense.
| Back to the Operating in the Face of Uncertain Credit Speaker List |

Operating in the face of uncertain credit
Joel Lorenzen – June 17th, 2009

Joel Lorenzen grew up in Oregon where his parents owned a part time farm. After graduating from Oregon State University with a BS in business administration he worked in the grain business. At 25 he became a general manager of a grain and farm supply company in Washington State.

In 1980 he began work in the Farm Credit System as a loan officer in Spokane, Washington. After serving in various management capacities he moved to Arizona in 1998 to become Chief Credit Officer of Farm Credit Services Southwest. He has since added to his roll as both Chief Credit Officer and Chief Operations Officer. Farm Credit Services Southwest manages assets in excess of $1 Billion in Arizona and Southern California.

Joel is also active in other community and professional organizations and is an occasional guest lecturer at Arizona State University Morrison School of Management. He is a life long swimmer and occasionally competes in Masters Swimming. He is married to Debra and they have a daughter who lives with her husband in San Diego
| Back to the Operating in the Face of Uncertain Credit Speaker List |

Operating in the face of uncertain credit
Duane Griffith – June 24th, 2009

Duane Griffith is an Extension Farm Management Specialist with Montana State University. His interests include production economics and financial analysis covering all aspects of farm and ranch business performance.

His educational curriculum includes crop and livestock enterprise analysis, machinery management, marketing of agricultural commodities, complete farm and ranch financial analysis and emerging risk management issues for agricultural operations.

Griffith also develops on-farm decision aids for farmers and ranchers to analyze their operations. These decision aids are typically in the form of Excel spreadsheets and are available for download from the Web address listed below. Web address:
http://www.montana.edu/softwaredownloads/
| Back to the Operating in the Face of Uncertain Credit Speaker List |

Operating in the face of uncertain credit
Dale Nordquist – June 24th, 2009

Dale Nordquist is an Extension Economist and Associate Director of the Center for Farm Financial Management in the Department of Applied Economics at the University of Minnesota.

Dale’s special interests include farm business analysis, farm planning, and software development. He has over 28 years of experience in teaching farm management and developing software tools for farm financial planning and analysis. Dale has also been a major contributor to the design and development of the FINPACK farm financial planning and analysis software as well as many other software tools developed and distributed through the Center For Farm Financial Management.
| Back to the Operating in the Face of Uncertain Credit Speaker List |

---

Operating in the face of uncertain markets

| Matt Roberts | Jim Robb | Ed Usset | Russ Tronstad | Rod Sharp | Dawn Thilmany | Raleigh Curtis | Emcee – Jon Newkirk |
Click on the name of an Operating in the Face of Uncertain Markets speaker to learn more about them. – Back to Top -

Operating in the face of uncertain markets
Matt Roberts – September 9th, 2009

Matt Roberts is an Associate Professor in the Department of Agricultural, Environmental and Development Economics and OSU Extension State Specialist at The Ohio State University.

He has published articles in the American Journal of Agricultural Economics and the Journal of Futures Markets, among others. He has been quoted in the Wall Street Journal, the Chicago Tribune, Associated Press, and Forbes, and has been interviewed on CNBC.

Prior to graduate school Roberts worked as a commodity and energy derivatives broker in Vienna, Austria and as a market research consultant to the pharmaceutical industry in North Carolina.

He is an active speaker, appearing approximately 50 times per year around the nation on grain, petroleum, and biofuels markets, and is also an active consultant to the commodity industry. He has been at The Ohio State University since 2001.
| Back to the Operating in the Face of Uncertain Markets Speaker List |

Operating in the face of uncertain markets
Jim Robb – September 9th, 2009

Jim Robb is an Agricultural Economist with the Livestock Marketing Information Center (LMIC) and since 1993 has been the Center Director. He has written several hundred articles and newsletters on livestock marketing topics and is a widely traveled speaker.

Prior to joining the LMIC in 1991, Jim was an Agricultural Economist at the University of Nebraska. Jim received degrees in Agricultural Economics from the University of California-Davis and from Michigan State University.

The LMIC began over 50 years ago and is a unique cooperative effort that supports livestock marketing education and research. Currently Center partners are, 28 U.S. Land Grant Universities; several U.S.D.A. agencies; and associate organizations.
| Back to the Operating in the Face of Uncertain Markets Speaker List |

Operating in the face of uncertain markets
Ed Usset – September 16th, 2009

Edward Usset serves as a Grain Marketing Specialist for the Center for Farm Financial Management at the University of Minnesota, the developers of FINPACK software and a variety of educational programs.

Working with his colleagues at CFFM and in extension, Ed developed the award winning “Winning the Game” series of workshops. He also helped develop “Tool Time,” a new series of workshops dedicated to understanding and using grain pricing tools. He teaches “Futures and Options Markets” at the University.

His first book, “Grain Marketing is Simple (it’s just not easy)” was released in September, 2007. You can reach him at usset001@umn.edu.
| Back to the Operating in the Face of Uncertain Markets Speaker List |

Operating in the face of uncertain markets
Dillon Feuz – September 16th, 2009

Dillon Feuz is an agricultural economics professor at the Utah State. His primary focus areas are in Livestock Marketing, and Farm & Ranch Management. He received his B.S. in Agribusiness in 1984 and his M.S. in Agricultural Economics in 1986 from the University of Wyoming and he received his Ph.D. in Agricultural Economics in 1990 from Colorado State University.

He spent six years at South Dakota State University teaching marketing and conducting research on livestock production and marketing issues. He then worked for the University of Nebraska-Lincoln for ten years analyzing various cattle management and marketing strategies and evaluating consumer’s willingness-to-pay for flavor preferences for beef steaks.

Dr. Feuz has been the recipient of over $700,000 in grants, has published 35 refereed journal articles, and has made hundreds of extension presentations. He has received the Outstanding Extension Program award from the Western Agricultural Economics Association and from the American Agricultural Economics Association. He also received the Prime Promoter award from the Nebraska Beef Council.
| Back to the Operating in the Face of Uncertain Markets Speaker List |

Operating in the face of uncertain markets
Russ Tronstad – September 17th, 2009

Russell Tronstad received his B.S. and M.S. degrees from Montana State University in Agribusiness and Applied Economics, and his Ph.D. from the University of Illinois in Agricultural Economics. He is Distinguished Outreach Professor and Extension Specialist in the Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics, The University of Arizona.

He was raised on a ranch in rural Montana that produced cattle and grain crops on both irrigated and dryland acreage.

Dr. Tronstad’s work and interests include direct farm marketing and tourism, tools for managing production and market risks, livestock pricing issues, and policy issues related to Arizona’s agriculture. He delivers risk management education to producer audiences that are comprised of both commercial commodity and small-scale specialty producers. He has received recognition from the American and Western Agricultural Economics Associations for Outstanding Extension Project Awards (1997, 1998, 2005, 2006).

He led the development of the award winning curriculums of Western Profiles of Innovative Agricultural Marketing: Examples from Direct Farm Marketing and Agri-Tourism Enterprises and Certification and Labeling Considerations for Agricultural Producers, both of which are available at www.valueaddedag.org.

In 2005 he received the Cooperative Extension Faculty of the Year Award from the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at the University of Arizona and in 2008 he was honored with the University Distinguished Outreach Professor award and title from the University of Arizona.
| Back to the Operating in the Face of Uncertain Markets Speaker List |

Operating in the face of uncertain markets
Rod Sharp – September 17th, 2009

Rod Sharp is an agricultural and business management economist with Colorado State University Extension and the Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics. He is responsible for educational efforts on the topics and issues of farm and ranch management. His professional interests are in farm and family financial management, business and enterprise analysis, risk management, and feasibility analysis of alternative enterprises.

Rod has been asked to participate in many state, regional, and national projects. He chaired a multi-state effort to study entrepreneurial agriculture and forestry enterprises in the west. He is co-coordinator of the award winning Agricultural and Business Management Team at Colorado State University. Other projects include Risk and Resilience in Agriculture, RightRisk, New Gates Through Old Fences, and Standardized Performance Analysis for Sheep and Cattle Producers.

Rod has been recognized with numerous individual and team awards during his career. He participates on several multi-state committees and workgroups. Mr. Sharp has authored or co-authored numerous resource manuals, fact sheets, spreadsheet templates, articles, web courses, and newsletters.

Rod was raised on a cattle and sheep ranch in northeastern Colorado. He earned Bachelor’s degree in Agricultural Business and a Master’s degree in Agricultural Economics from Colorado State University.
| Back to the Operating in the Face of Uncertain Markets Speaker List |

Operating in the face of uncertain markets
Dawn Thilmany – September 23rd, 2009

Dawn Thilmany McFadden graduated from Iowa State with a B.S. in Public Service and Administration in Agriculture, and from UC-Davis with a M.S. and Ph.D. in Agricultural Economics. She is a Professor of Agribusiness and Agribusiness Extension Economist with Colorado State University. She also serves on the Markets Advisory Board with the Colorado Department of Agriculture and frequently works with them on marketing research and outreach projects. She has served as the Interim Program leader for Organics with USDA-CSREES and was a Farm Foundation Fellow for Rural Community Vitality.

Dawn’s research and extension focuses on two distinct areas of inquiry: small agribusiness management and local food entrepreneurs as a part of rural development. The projects she has provided research and technical assistance on are diverse and include: a farmer to chef distribution, Colorado Crop to Cuisine, Value Added and marketing programs for natural meat and bison, the economic impact of the wine industry and agritourism enterprises.

In her Extension role, she serves on the Sustainable Community Development and Sustainable Agriculture Work teams and she recently took the lead on a local food systems initiative for CSU Extension. Her future work will focus on developing curriculum and short courses for beginning farmers in the Western region in cooperation with the Western Center for Risk Management Education at Washington State University.
| Back to the Operating in the Face of Uncertain Markets Speaker List |

Operating in the face of uncertain markets
Raleigh Curtis – September 23rd, 2009

Raleigh Curtis is the past General Manager of Mid Columbia Producers, Inc. (MCP) a farmer owned cooperative with headquarters in Moro, Oregon. MCP has 17 grain elevators including three barge loading terminals, a seed grains division, fuel distribution and retail locations.

The last 40 years Mr. Curtis’ career in agribusiness has rewarded him with many opportunities to learn and share within the arenas of Farming, Marketing and Risk Management, Agribusiness Development, and Management in the South, Central and Western regions of the United States.

As a producer, Raleigh received the Potato Grower of the Year award from both Ore Ida Foods and the J.R. Simplot Company. He received the Sugar Beet Grower of the Year award from Utah Idaho Sugar Company.

One of Mr. Curtis’ primary passions is the development and sharing of economic and marketing tools for the benefit agriculture producer.

Over the years he has become very aware that having the right tools may be useful but for those tools to be successful requires the user to develop and maintain a disciplined execution process as they set risk and price objectives.
| Back to the Operating in the Face of Uncertain Markets Speaker List |

---

Families Facing Uncertainty in Agriculture

| Dave Goeller | Jay Gordon | Elaine Froese | Michael Rosmann | Jeff Tranel | Norm Dalsted | Kenneth Copple | Ruth Hambleton | Bob Fetsch | Emcees – Jon Newkirk & John Hewlett |
Click on the name of a Families Facing Uncertainty in Agriculture speaker to learn more about them. – Back to Top -

Families Facing Uncertainty in Agriculture
Dave Goeller – October 7th, 2009

Dave Goeller is the Deputy Director of the North Central Risk Management Education Center located at the University of Nebraska. His duties include administering Risk Management Education grants through out the 12 state North Central Region. Prior to his appointment as Deputy Director in 2007, Dave was a member of the Department of Agricultural Economics, where he focused his extension and educational efforts on three main areas: 1. Assisting beginning farmers and ranchers develop a plan to enter the field of production agriculture. 2. Providing business succession and estate planning alternatives and transfer strategies for the “Ownership” generation. 3. Assisting agricultural producers experiencing “financial difficulties” work through their problems and evaluate their options.

Dave began his career at UNL in 1984 and has been involved with the development, planning, coordinating, delivery and/or curriculum design, of many of the University of Nebraska’s Farm Management Educational programs such as: Managing for Tomorrow, Women in Ag, Trade Adjustment Assistance for Farmers and Fisherman, Planning for Business Success, Farm and Ranch Legal and Financial Clinics, Winning the Game, Annie’s Project, Nebraska Farm Mediation and Conflict Resolution program, Farm Business Succession and Estate Planning Seminars, and Returning to the Farm.

The author of numerous articles and publications, Goeller has provided training and presented at various seminars and conferences in the U.S. and Canada. As a practicing farmer, he’s able to address issues such as “Fair vs. Equal”, “Expectations of each Generation” and “Contribution and Compensation” from a unique perspective. Dave has been quoted as saying, “Developing a successful farm business succession plan is a process, not an event. It involves a mixture of practical, financial, tax, legal and especially human communication components that need to combine in a mutually compatible way.”

Dave received a Bachelors degree in Agricultural Economics, a Bachelors degree in Agronomy and a Masters degree in Adult Education from the University of Nebraska. Dave and his high-school sweet heart, Cindy, are involved in their family farming operation with Dave’s brother, father and mother in Northeast Nebraska, where they raise corn, soybeans and kids.
| Back to the Families Facing Uncertainty in Agriculture Speaker List |

Families Facing Uncertainty in Agriculture
Jay Gordon – October 7th, 2009

Jay Gordon may be best known as the executive director of the Washington State Dairy Federation, the legislative watchdog for most of Washington’s dairy producers. But Gordon also operates a 130-cow dairy near Elma, Wash. The 600-acre dairy has been in his family for 135 years. It is transitioning to organic production and will market its first organic milk this fall. Gordon’s two roles have sharpened his industry perspective and given him a broader view of the organic dairy business.
| Back to the Families Facing Uncertainty in Agriculture Speaker List |

Families Facing Uncertainty in Agriculture
Elaine Froese – October 14th, 2009

Elaine’s specialty is leading agricultural families who are transferring their multi-million dollar farms to the next generation, or not! She coaches farm families to “Discuss the Undiscussabull ™ and answers “Who gets the farm and when ?” Elaine also mediates for the Farm Debt Mediation Service.

She has used traditional media via a regular column in Grainews for over 14 years, national TV (www.agvisionTV.com) and an award winning book to spread her message. Elaine was a keynote speaker at the NWEDA conference in Oklahoma City in 2008.

Elaine is known for her common sense and practical applications honed from a lifetime on the farm. She holds a degree from the University of Manitoba, a certificate in conflict resolution and is a certified coach from the Hudson Institute of Santa Barbara. Elaine is a member of the Canadian Association of Farm Advisors and the Canadian Association of Professional Speakers. Elaine and her husband Wes produce certified seed grain in southwestern Manitoba. Learn more at www.elainefroese.com
| Back to the Families Facing Uncertainty in Agriculture Speaker List |

Families Facing Uncertainty in Agriculture
Jeff Tranel – October 14th, 2009

Jeffrey E. Tranel is an Agricultural and Business Management Economist with Colorado State University Extension and Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics. His professional interests focus primarily in farm and family financial management, risk management, accounting and record keeping, income taxes, and water management. He also serves as leader of CSU Extension’s Competitive and Sustainable Agricultural Systems Core Competency Area, co-coordinator of the award winning Agricultural and Business Management Team, and serves as on the Colorado Water Availability Task Force.

Jeff has been involved with many state, regional, and national educational and research projects since “cutting his Extension teeth” helping farm and ranch families in Nebraska during the farm financial crisis of the 1980s. Such projects include: Managing For Tomorrow, Risk and Resilience in Agriculture, RightRisk, Ag Help Wanted, Rural Family Ventures, Ag In Uncertain Times, and Ag Transitions.

Mr. Tranel has conducted workshops and addressed audiences across the United States, Washington, DC, and the countries of Canada, Ireland, and Belarus. He has authored or co-authored numerous resource manuals, fact sheets, spreadsheet templates, articles, newsletters, and a book on human resource management. He has co-authored five self study courses on different aspects of risk management. Much of Jeff’s work involves the complex interaction between people and their farm and ranch businesses.

Jeff was raised on a commercial and purebred cattle ranch in south central Wyoming and northwestern Colorado. He earned Bachelor and Master’s degrees from the University of Wyoming. Jeff lives in Pueblo with his wife, an Extension 4-H/Youth Development Agent.
| Back to the Families Facing Uncertainty in Agriculture Speaker List |

Families Facing Uncertainty in Agriculture
Michael Rosmann – October 14th, 2009

Michael Rosmann Ph.D. is a clinical psychologist and the executive director of AgriWellness, Inc., a nonprofit organization that provides behavioral health supports to the agricultural population in seven upper Midwestern states.

Dr. Rosmann will address the topic of how to manage our behavior during stressful times on October 14. He lives on his farm at Harlan, Iowa in the western part of his state.
| Back to the Families Facing Uncertainty in Agriculture Speaker List |
 
 
 

Families Facing Uncertainty in Agriculture
Norm Dalsted – October 20th, 2009

Norm Dalsted is a professor and extension specialist at Colorado State University. The primary areas of research in which he has been involved include costs of production related to crops, vegetables, fruit, and livestock throughout Colorado. He has been involved in developing actual crop enterprise budgets for various crops to include wheat, corn, alfalfa, sugar beets, barley, dry beans, and corn silage on an annual basis since the 1983 crop year. Livestock budgets including cow calf, sheep, and stocker/yearling budgets which are prepared less frequently but usually every 3-5 years. Dairy analysis has also become an important industry in Colorado and as such research related to annual operating costs and investment requirements of a dairy are developed periodically as the need arises.

Crop insurance as a tool to protect today’s producers against market and weather risks has become an important topic in production agriculture. The various insurance products being offered such as revenue assurance, multi-peril, and adjusted gross revenue create researchable questions as to what product an individual producer should select to best meet their needs yet be affordable to the business. Efforts between Kansas State University, University of Nebraska, and Colorado State University are on-going to develop educational and training materials for crop insurance agents in these states as well as surrounding states of New Mexico, Oklahoma, South Dakota, and Wyoming. Much of the effort is related to the risk management applications of crop insurance products.

Two additional areas of interest include estate planning and financial analyses to include bankruptcy, particularly Chapter 11 and Chapter 12 reorganizations. Very little research has been done related to the successful application of these reorganization tools that are available to agricultural producers. Estate planning is another topic that is overlooked by many of today’s agriculturalists. Development of the educational materials to assist individuals and families is necessary to provide guidance and direction in the transfer process. Estate tax is for many agricultural operations an important consideration, however, in many situations how to transfer the business to heirs is even a bigger hurdle.
| Back to the Families Facing Uncertainty in Agriculture Speaker List |

Families Facing Uncertainty in Agriculture
Kenneth Copple – October 20th, 2009

Kenneth Copple of Kenneth Copple and Associates practices in Ft. Collins, CO where he represents ranchers, dairies and family farms in all areas of agricultural law, including water disputes, agribusiness litigation and bankruptcy reorganization.

Mr. Copple has been representing clients in Chapter 11 and 12 bankruptcies since 1987. He also is a frequent guest lecturer at Colorado State University in the areas of agricultural law, and has, in the past, taught the classes in water law and agricultural law at CSU.

Mr. Copple received his Juris Doctorate from the University of Nebraska College of Las in 1980 and a Masters of Agricultural from Colorado State University in 1987.
| Back to the Families Facing Uncertainty in Agriculture Speaker List |

Families Facing Uncertainty in Agriculture
Ruth Hambleton – October 21st, 2009

Ruth Fleck Hambleton, Founder of Annie’s Project and president of Annie’s Project—Education for Farm Women, Not-For-Profit retired after 30 plus years with University of Illinois Extension.

She is a farmer’s daughter and married a farmer. Ruth and her husband of 31 years raised three children on a 40 acre hog, beef and hay farm.

Ruth is a graduate of Southern Illinois University at Carbondale with a bachelors in Animal Industries and a masters in Agricultural Economics. She is working with her sister and two brothers to help their father manage his 320 acres of farmland in north central Illinois.
| Back to the Families Facing Uncertainty in Agriculture Speaker List |

Families Facing Uncertainty in Agriculture
Bob Fetsch – October 21st, 2009

Bob Fetsch is an Extension professor with Colorado
State University and is nationally recognized for research and
outreach in mental health issues for farmers. Dr. Fetsch has a family dairy background.

In his position at CSU he focuses mainly on stress, coping, risk and resiliency with farm/ranch families, educational program evaluation, suicide prevention, and anger management/child abuse prevention.
| Back to the Families Facing Uncertainty in Agriculture Speaker List |

---

Operating in Risky Environments

| Gary Brester | John Hewlett | Duane Griffith | John Hewlett | Jay Parsons | Emcee – Jon Newkirk |
Click on the name of an Operating in Risky Environments speaker to learn more about them. – Back to Top -

Operating in Risky Environments
Gary Brester – November 4th, 2009

Gary Brester is a Professor in the Department of Agricultural Economics and Economics at Montana State University. He was raised on an irrigated sugarbeet and malting barley farm near Laurel, Montana. He has two degrees from Montana State University — a B.S. in Agricultural Business and an M.S. in Applied Economics. His received his Ph.D. degree in Economics from North Carolina State University.

Dr. Brester was an Assistant and Associate Professor in the Department of Agricultural Economics at Kansas State University from 1990-1997. Since 1997, he has been an Associate Professor and Professor in the Department of Agricultural Economics and Economics at Montana State University.

His teaching responsibilities include farm and ranch management, agribusiness management, finance, and agricultural marketing. Brester’s applied research program includes livestock and grain, risk management, international trade, agribusiness, and farm management issues. He currently serves as the Managing Editor of the Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics.
| Back to the Operating in Risky Environments Speaker List |

Operating in Risky Environments
John Hewlett – November 4th, 2009

John Hewlett is a Farm/ranch Management Specialist at the University of Wyoming and member of the regional RightRisk and Risk Navigator teams. He also coordinated past efforts of the regional WIRE program.

He grew up in Washington State, where he worked eight years (four as foreman) on a large stocker-cattle/crop operation. John holds a BS degree in Agricultural Business from Montana State University and a M.S. degree in Agricultural Economics from Oregon State University.

He came to the University of Wyoming, Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics in 1987. Since then he has been involved in a number of state and regional extension programs, receiving four Western Agricultural Economics Association awards for outstanding extension programs, two UW Cooperative Extension awards for creative excellence, one American Agricultural Economics Association award for professional excellence, the Jim DeBree Excellence in Cooperative Extension award, and six other regional or national awards.

John’s current extension interests include risk management, integrated management, enterprise assessment, financial analysis, recordkeeping, and applications of technology in agricultural.

He and his family operate a small farm/ranch 20 miles outside of Laramie, Wyoming where they have several commercial small animal enterprises.
| Back to the Operating in Risky Environments Speaker List |

Operating in Risky Environments
Duane Griffith – November 18th, 2009

Duane Griffith is an Extension Farm Management Specialist with Montana State University. His interests include production economics and financial analysis covering all aspects of farm and ranch business performance.

His educational curriculum includes crop and livestock enterprise analysis, machinery management, marketing of agricultural commodities, complete farm and ranch financial analysis and emerging risk management issues for agricultural operations.

Griffith also develops on-farm decision aids for farmers and ranchers to analyze their operations. These decision aids are typically in the form of Excel spreadsheets and are available for download from the Web address listed below.

Web address:

http://www.montana.edu/softwaredownloads/

| Back to the Operating in Risky Environments Speaker List |

Operating in Risky Environments
John Hewlett – November 18th, 2009

John Hewlett is a Farm/ranch Management Specialist at the University of Wyoming and member of the regional RightRisk and Risk Navigator teams. He also coordinated past efforts of the regional WIRE program.

He grew up in Washington State, where he worked eight years (four as foreman) on a large stocker-cattle/crop operation. John holds a BS degree in Agricultural Business from Montana State University and a M.S. degree in Agricultural Economics from Oregon State University.

He came to the University of Wyoming, Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics in 1987. Since then he has been involved in a number of state and regional extension programs, receiving four Western Agricultural Economics Association awards for outstanding extension programs, two UW Cooperative Extension awards for creative excellence, one American Agricultural Economics Association award for professional excellence, the Jim DeBree Excellence in Cooperative Extension award, and six other regional or national awards.

John’s current extension interests include risk management, integrated management, enterprise assessment, financial analysis, recordkeeping, and applications of technology in agricultural.

He and his family operate a small farm/ranch 20 miles outside of Laramie, Wyoming where they have several commercial small animal enterprises.
| Back to the Operating in Risky Environments Speaker List |

Operating in Risky Environments
Jay Parsons – November 18th, 2009

Jay Parsons grew up on a diversified crop and livestock farm in the panhandle of Nebraska. While remaining active in the family farming operation, he earned a bachelor’s degree in mathematics at Hastings College and worked the early part of his career in mathematics education as a teacher and a coach. Along the way, he earned a master’s degree in mathematics and served six years as an Assistant Professor and the Associate Director of the Individualized Mathematics Program at Colorado State University. In 2003, he completed his goal of applying mathematics to his farming roots and earned a Ph.D. in agricultural economics.

Jay is the founder and President of Optimal Ag Consulting, Inc. in Fort Collins, CO. He and his wife Geri also formed a subsidiary company called Optimal Livestock Services to further carry out the mission of serving agricultural producers. Jay is active in several organizations including the Colorado Wool Growers Association and the Decision Analysis Society of the Institute for Operations Research and Management Science. Jay’s research program spans the fields of production economics, operations research, risk management, and decision analysis with a focus on production agriculture.

Jay’s projects include continued development of Ag Survivor simulation software for RightRisk, an innovative risk management educational program designed to provide experiential learning opportunities for farmers and ranchers. He is also involved in research in the areas of livestock identification systems, livestock production and disease management, risk and uncertainty in livestock production, integrated systems modeling for ranches, and the development of multi-criteria decision support systems for agricultural land use decisions and wheat variety selection decisions.

Jay has given hundreds workshops and informative presentations throughout the country on managing and understanding risk. He has authored or co-authored numerous pieces of software, fact sheets, articles, and book chapters and currently serves as an educator in the Western Center for Integrated Resource Management at Colorado State University.

Jay remains very active as a stake holder in the family farming operation in Nebraska. He and his wife Geri live in Fort Collins with their two children, Tyrel and Maddie.
| Back to the Operating in Risky Environments Speaker List |

---

Pulling it all together: Managing Ag Enterprises in Uncertain times

| Jason Henderson | Bob Craven | HL Goodwin | Doug Jose | Jon Newkirk | Don Tilmon | Emcees – Jon Newkirk & Ramio Lobo |
Click on the name of an Operating in Risky Environments speaker to learn more about them. – Back to Top -

Managing Ag Enterprises in Uncertain times
Jason Henderson – December 2nd, 2009

Jason Henderson joined the Omaha Branch of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City in August 2006 as Branch Executive. In this role, he serves as the Bank’s regional economist and representative in the state of Nebraska, recruits and works closely with the branch’s board of directors and is responsible for briefing the Kansas City Fed’s president – a member of the Federal Open Market Committee – on economic and business activity in the state.

Prior to being promoted into this position, he served as Senior Economist with the Center for the Study of Rural America at the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City. Jason began his second stint at the Bank in 2001 after completing his Ph.D. degree from Purdue University. He has a M.S. degree in agricultural economics from Purdue University and a bachelor’s degree in economics from Central College in Pella, Iowa.

Jason’s research interests focus on regional economic issues, including the rural economy. Jason has published research on innovation, entrepreneurship, land values, the growth of knowledge-based activity in rural America, and the use of electronic commerce in agricultural industries. He is responsible for publication of the Tenth Federal Reserve District’s quarterly survey of agricultural credit conditions.

Jason presents frequently to a wide range of business, financial and policy audiences. His research has been widely cited by policy officials, other researchers, and leading media outlets, including The Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Financial Times, and USA Today. He has also provided expert testimony to a Congressional subcommittee on agricultural credit conditions.

Jason is a native of Arlington, Iowa, where he was raised on a small dairy farm. He is married and has three children.
| Back to the Managing Ag Enterprises in Uncertain times Speaker List |

Managing Ag Enterprises in Uncertain times
Bob Craven – December 9th, 2009

Robert Craven is an Extension Economist and Director of the Center for Farm Financial Management, Department of Applied Economics, University of Minnesota. Areas of specialty include business management, credit analysis and grain marketing. His work for the Center has focused on development of FINPACK, nationally recognized ag credit analysis software. He is also on the development team for the Winning the Game grain marketing education programs. He has been an invited speaker at numerous conferences and seminars including the National ABA Ag Bankers Conference and the USDA Ag Outlook Forum. He has also taught over 300 workshops on farm management and marketing.

Mr. Craven is also actively involved in a 1300 acre family farming operation in southwestern Minnesota. He has a B.S. degree in Animal Science and an M.S. degree in Agricultural Economics from the University of Minnesota. Bob’s e-mail address is: rcraven@umn.edu
| Back to the Managing Ag Enterprises in Uncertain times Speaker List |

Managing Ag Enterprises in Uncertain times
HL Goodwin – December 9th, 2009

H.L. Goodwin is Professor and Poultry Economist at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville and Co-Director of the Southern Risk Management Education Center at the University of Arkansas’ Cooperative Extenison Service. He joined the faculty of the University of Arkansas’ Center of Excellence for Poultry Science in Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness in December, 1997. Prior to 1997 he was the Agricultural and Food Systems Policy Advisor to the Minister of Agriculture in Slovakia (1996-1998) and a Fulbright Scholar in Czechoslovakia (1991-92). Goodwin was on faculty of the Texas A&M University Department of Agricultural Economics from 1982 – 1995 and served as the Associate Director of the Texas Agriculture Market Research Center from 1989 through 1995. He received his Ph.D. in Agricultural Economics from Oklahoma State University in 1982.

His current research and extension responsibilities are in economic and business issues related to the poultry industry, specifically poultry litter management, animal waste systems, grower profitability and grower relations. Other areas of his program include international trade, food safety linkages and comparative analysis of the industry with other food and non-food industry segments. Dr. Goodwin’s teaching duties are in the area of agribusiness and market structures, marketing management and integrated poultry systems.

His most recent significant professional contributions include serving on the American Soybean Association Task Force on Assisting U.S. Animal Agriculture and serving as Chair of the Food Safety and Animal Health Workgroup for the 2006 Farm Foundation effort “The Future of Animal Agriculture in North America in the 21st Century” and is the coordinator of a North American symposium “Zoonoses: Connecting Global Animal Agriculture and Human Health”. He is also at the forefront of establishing unique and sustainable solutions to surplus nutrients in poultry production areas.
| Back to the Managing Ag Enterprises in Uncertain times Speaker List |

Managing Ag Enterprises in Uncertain times
Doug Jose – December 9th, 2009

Doug grew up in Ontario on a dairy and fruit farm. He got his BS in General Agricultural Sciences from McGill University, MS in Ag Economics from the University of Massachusetts and Ph.D. in Ag Economics from Oklahoma State University and has been with the University of Nebraska since 1980. Among his professional accomplishments are the Winning the Game program (one of three originators) and Market Journal, http://marketjournal.unl.edu, which focuses on practical risk management strategies for ag producers. He is a director of the International Farm Management Association and is currently president of the Extension Section of the Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.

Doug and his wife Doreen live near Bennett, NE at Trillium Grove Farms and continue to farm. Their daughter, Darrell lives in Toronto and works with the HGTV and FOOD channels in Canada.
| Back to the Managing Ag Enterprises in Uncertain times Speaker List |

Managing Ag Enterprises in Uncertain times
Jon Newkirk – December 9th, 2009

Jon Newkirk, a Washington State University Extension Economist, has program experience in ag and rural transportation, grain marketing, community building, and farm and risk management. Jon serves as Director of the WSU Western Center for Risk Management Education. The Western Center serves the 13 Western States and the US Pacific Islands with a results/outcome focused regional grant program designed to help farm and ranch families succeed.

In addition to his work as an economist, Jon’s professional career includes a wide range of experiences: refugee relief in SE Asia; self employed auto mechanic; registered public interest lobbyist; and Extension educator at the county level. His organizational leadership roles include positions with the NYS Department of Agriculture and Markets, Director of the WSU Puyallup Research and Extension Center, as well as serving as County Chair for the WSU Extension Spokane and Adams County Extension Offices.
| Back to the Managing Ag Enterprises in Uncertain times Speaker List |

Managing Ag Enterprises in Uncertain times
Don Tilmon – December 9th, 2009

Education:
Ph.D. in Marketing, Purdue University, 1971.
M.S. in Management, University of Delaware, 1967.
B.S. in Animal Science, University of Missouri, 1965.

Employment:
Professor, Farm Management , Delaware Cooperative Extension,
University of Delaware, Newark, DE, 1978 to present.
Assoc. Professor & Dept. Chair, Business Admin Dept, Lynchburg
College, Lynchburg, VA, 1971-78.

RME Experience:
* Director, Northeast Center for RME, University of DE, ’99 to present (Funding of approximately $10 M received from CSREES during this period.)
* Shared Faculty appointment as National Program Leader for Farm Business Management, CSREES/USDA, 1/03-10/03.
* Chaired and coordinated activities associated with National Extension RME Workshop in St. Louis, MO, 6/00.
* Co-Authored five (5) teaching case studies for use with the Adjusted Gross Revenue Insurance Policy, fall 2000.
Served as Northeast RME Extension Coordinator, 10/97-9/99.
* Served as National Program Leader for Risk Management
Education to set up current RME program, CSREES/USDA, 5/97-9/99.
* Served on National RME Work Group, RMA/USDA, 5/97-9/98.
* Chaired and coordinated Northeast Farm Management Committee’s presentation of 5 Horticultural RME Workshops in NE Region, 6/99.
* Conducted research as basis for 6 new vegetable crop insurance policies on Delmarva during 1980’s and directed the educational program for those insurance policies in late 1980’s.
* National Extension Crop Insurance Advisory Committee, 1982 to 1997.
| Back to the Managing Ag Enterprises in Uncertain times Speaker List |

Managing Ag Enterprises in Uncertain times
John Nelson – December 16th, 2009

John Nelson serves as a Risk Management Education Specialist and Program Coordinator for Trade Adjustment Assistance for Farmers at Washington State University’s Western Center for Risk Management Education.

In his role at the Western Center, he has worked with Farm Specialists across the U.S. on several programs, including an 18 state expansion of Adjusted Gross Revenue-Lite, an all farm insurance product, and most recently on Ag In Uncertain Times, a webinar series to help educators respond to the financial management needs of farm and ranch families.

Prior to working for the Western Center, John served as a Director for Farm Credit and Farmer Mac ; he has been a state trooper; a farm insurance agent; and, he owns a grain farm in Reardan, Washington.

John was born in Nebraska and grew up in New Mexico and southern Oregon. He has an undergraduate degree from the University of Oregon and a Masters Degree from Gonzaga University. John and his wife met while working for Country Companies (Farm Bureau) Insurance and they currently reside on their farm in Reardan, Washington where they have a small herd of registered angus.
| Back to the Managing Ag Enterprises in Uncertain times Speaker List |

Managing Ag Enterprises in Uncertain times
Trent Teegerstrom – December 16th, 2009

Trent is an associate Specialist with the Department of Ag and Resource Economics at the University of Arizona. Trent has been involved in production agriculture all his life. He has worked with a variety of agricultural enterprises including dry-land farming in the mid-west; irrigated agriculture in the southwest; and livestock production in the northeast, mountain west, and southwest. He has also worked with fruit and vegetable producers in the northeast and southwest.

He joined the University of Arizona’s Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics in 1997 after spending the previous two years as a Farm Business Management Specialist with Cornell Cooperative Extension working in farm finance and risk management areas. His main area of concentration is production economics, Tribal agriculture, risk management and agricultural labor issues.
| Back to the Managing Ag Enterprises in Uncertain times Speaker List |

Managing Ag Enterprises in Uncertain times
Jon Newkirk – December 16th, 2009

Jon Newkirk, a Washington State University Extension Economist, has program experience in ag and rural transportation, grain marketing, community building, and farm and risk management. Jon serves as Director of the WSU Western Center for Risk Management Education. The Western Center serves the 13 Western States and the US Pacific Islands with a results/outcome focused regional grant program designed to help farm and ranch families succeed.

In addition to his work as an economist, Jon’s professional career includes a wide range of experiences: refugee relief in SE Asia; self employed auto mechanic; registered public interest lobbyist; and Extension educator at the county level. His organizational leadership roles include positions with the NYS Department of Agriculture and Markets, Director of the WSU Puyallup Research and Extension Center, as well as serving as County Chair for the WSU Extension Spokane and Adams County Extension Offices.
| Back to the Managing Ag Enterprises in Uncertain times Speaker List |

---

Managing Volatility In Agriculture Web Seminar Series

| Dan Sumner | Danny Klinefelter | Gary Brester | John Hewlett | Ed Allen | Duane Griffith | Roberta Cook | Kynda Curtis | Emcees – Jon Newkirk & Ramio Lobo |
Click on the name of a Volatility In Agriculture speaker to learn more about them. – Back to Top -

Managing Volatility In Agriculture Web Seminar Series
Daniel Sumner – December 8th, 2010

Daniel A. Sumner is the Frank H. Buck, Jr., Professor in the Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics at the University of California, Davis and the Director of the University of California, Agricultural Issues Center. He participates in research, teaching, and directs an outreach program related to public issues related to agriculture.

He has published broadly in academic journals, books, and industry outlets.
His research and writing has received numerous awards for research quality,
quality of communication and contribution to policy. He has served as
Chair of the International Agricultural Trade Research Consortium, a consultant for farm organization, government agencies and firms and is a frequent speaker at national and international conferences and symposia. In 1998, he was named a fellow of the American Agricultural Economics Association for his career achievement.

From 1978 to 1992 Sumner was a professor in the Division of Economics and Business at North Carolina State University. He spent much of the period after 1986 on leave for government service in Washington, D.C. where he served at the President’s Council of Economic Advisers before moving to USDA.

Immediately prior to moving to California in January 1993, Sumner was the Assistant Secretary for Economics at the United States Department of Agriculture where he contributed to policy formulation and analysis on the whole range of topics facing agriculture and rural America — from food and farm programs to trade, resources, and rural development. In his role as supervisor of Agriculture’s economics and statistics agencies, Sumner was also responsible for data collection, outlook and economic research.

Sumner was raised on a fruit farm in Suisun Valley, California and was active in 4-H and FFA activities as a youth. He received a bachelor’s degree in agricultural management from California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo in 1971, a master’s degree from Michigan State in 1973, and a Ph.D. in economics from the University of Chicago in 1978.
| Back to the Managing Volatility In Agriculture Web Seminar Series Speaker List |

Managing Volatility In Agriculture Web Seminar Series
Danny Klinefelter – December 8th, 2010

Danny Klinefelter is a Professor and Extension Economist with Texas AgriLife Extension and Texas A&M University. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Illinois in 1979, where he was a National Science Foundation Research Fellow.

He is director of The Executive Program for Agricultural Producers
(TEPAP) and co-director of the Texas A&M Family and Owner-Managed Business Program. In addition, he serves as executive secretary for the Association of Agricultural Production Executives (AAPEX) and coordinator of the Planning the Return to the Farm/Ranch Program. He is also a member of the board of AgTexas Farm Credit Services and president of his family’s Illinois farm corporation.

In addition to his academic career, he spent 10 years in commercial banking and the Farm Credit System. He is author or co-author of 8 books and over 400 articles on management and finance. He has received the Texas A&M Association of Former Students Distinguished Faculty Achievement Award for both Extension and Teaching, and was named Honor Professor in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences in 2006. He has also received the American Agricultural Economics Association’s Quality of Published Communication Award and the Southern Agricultural Economics Association’s Lifetime Achievement Award. In 2009, the 25th anniversary issue of the Top Producer magazine listed him as one of the 25 people in the world who will have the greatest influence on the future of American agriculture. He received the American Agricultural Editors Association’s Distinguished Service to Agriculture Award in 2010. The DSA has been awarded annually since 1947.

Dr. Klinefelter is the third Aggie to receive the award, the two previous winners were Dr. Perry Adkisson and Dr. Norman Borlaug.
| Back to the Managing Volatility In Agriculture Web Seminar Series Speaker List |

Managing Volatility In Agriculture Web Seminar Series
Gary Brester – December 9th, 2010

Gary Brester is a Professor in the Department of Agricultural Economics and Economics at Montana State University. He was raised on an irrigated sugarbeet and malting barley farm near Laurel, Montana. He has two degrees from Montana State University — a B.S. in Agricultural Business and an M.S. in Applied Economics. His received his Ph.D. degree in Economics from North Carolina State University.

Dr. Brester was an Assistant and Associate Professor in the Department of Agricultural Economics at Kansas State University from 1990-1997. Since 1997, he has been an Associate Professor and Professor in the Department of Agricultural Economics and Economics at Montana State University.

His teaching responsibilities include farm and ranch management, agribusiness management, finance, and agricultural marketing. Brester’s applied research program includes livestock and grain, risk management, international trade, agribusiness, and farm management issues. He currently serves as the Managing Editor of the Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics.
| Back to the Managing Volatility In Agriculture Web Seminar Series Speaker List |

Managing Volatility In Agriculture Web Seminar Series
John Hewlett – December 9th, 2010

John Hewlett is a Farm/ranch Management Specialist at the University of Wyoming and member of the regional RightRisk and Risk Navigator teams. He also coordinated past efforts of the regional WIRE program.

He grew up in Washington State, where he worked eight years (four as foreman) on a large stocker-cattle/crop operation. John holds a BS degree in Agricultural Business from Montana State University and a M.S. degree in Agricultural Economics from Oregon State University.

He came to the University of Wyoming, Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics in 1987. Since then he has been involved in a number of state and regional extension programs, receiving four Western Agricultural Economics Association awards for outstanding extension programs, two UW Cooperative Extension awards for creative excellence, one American Agricultural Economics Association award for professional excellence, the Jim DeBree Excellence in Cooperative Extension award, and six other regional or national awards.

John’s current extension interests include risk management, integrated management, enterprise assessment, financial analysis, recordkeeping, and applications of technology in agricultural.

He and his family operate a small farm/ranch 20 miles outside of Laramie, Wyoming where they have several commercial small animal enterprises.
| Back to the Managing Volatility In Agriculture Web Seminar Series Speaker List |

Managing Volatility In Agriculture Web Seminar Series
Ed Allen – December 15th, 2010

Ed has worked for ERS/USDA since 1980. Currently he is the cross-commodity analyst for field crops. He continues to be responsible for forecasting wheat and feedgrain trade and foreign countries’ supply and demand.

From 1986 to 1995 he was ERS’s lead domestic wheat analyst, doing much of the Department’s analysis and forecasting of U.S. wheat by class, and Head of the Food Grains Section.

Before that he was the Brazil Country Analyst, an international cotton market analyst, an international oilseeds markets analyst, and worked on a global agricultural commodity model.

Prior to joining USDA, Ed was in the Peace Corps in Colombia. His Masters degree is in Economics from the State University of New York at Stony Brook.
| Back to the Managing Volatility In Agriculture Web Seminar Series Speaker List |

Managing Volatility In Agriculture Web Seminar Series
Duane Griffith – December 15th, 2010

Duane Griffith is an Extension Farm Management Specialist with Montana State University.  His interests include production economics and financial analysis covering all aspects of farm and ranch business performance.

His educational curriculum includes crop and livestock enterprise analysis, machinery management, marketing of agricultural commodities, complete farm and ranch financial analysis and emerging risk management issues for agricultural operations.

Griffith also develops on-farm decision aids for farmers and ranchers to analyze their operations.  These decision aids are typically in the form of Excel spreadsheets and are available for download from the Web address listed below.

Web address:

http://www.montana.edu/softwaredownloads/

| Back to the Managing Volatility In Agriculture Web Seminar Series Speaker List |

Managing Volatility In Agriculture Web Seminar Series
Roberta Cook – December 16th, 2010

Roberta Cook has a Ph.D. in Agricultural Economics from Michigan State University. Since 1985 she has been the Cooperative Extension Marketing Economist in the Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics at University of California, Davis. She conducts an applied research and industry outreach program focusing on the marketing and international trade of fresh fruits and vegetables, including studies on international competitiveness, and trends in consumer demand and food distribution.

In addition to her work on the U.S. food marketing system, she has extensive international marketing expertise on issues such as: modernizing domestic food distribution systems in Latin America; identifying fruit and vegetable import/export opportunities throughout the Western Hemisphere; European fruit and vegetable marketing trends; and the structure of the Mexican horticultural industry, with special emphasis on the vegetable export industries in Sinaloa, Baja California and the Bajio. She is fluent in Spanish and regularly lectures in Spanish throughout Latin America.

She currently serves on the Board of Directors of Ocean Mist Farms and Naturipe Farms. She has served on numerous committees of the Produce for Better Health Foundation (PBH) and is a member of the Monsanto Vegetable Seeds Advisory Council. She served on the Produce Marketing Association (PMA) Foundation for Industry Talent Board from 2006-2008, and on the Board of Directors of Sunkist Growers from 2004 to February 2006. From 1997-98 she chaired the Board of Directors of the California Kiwifruit Commission, having served on the Board since 1992, also serving as Public Member of the California Tomato Commission from 1993-2006. From 2001-2004 she served on the American Agricultural Economics Association Foundation Governing Board. From 1998-2003 she was a member of the Agricultural Trade Advisory Committee (ATAC) for Fruits and Vegetables of the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the U.S.T.R.

Since 2003 she is Faculty Director of the California Agribusiness Executive Seminar, a program co-sponsored by the Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics and the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences at the University of California, Davis, and Wells Fargo Bank.

http://cook.ucdavis.edu

| Back to the Managing Volatility In Agriculture Web Seminar Series Speaker List |

Managing Volatility In Agriculture Web Seminar Series
Kynda Curtis – December 16th, 2010

Dr. Kynda Curtis has been an Associate Professor and Extension Economist in the Department of Applied Economics at Utah State University since 2010. Originally from Anchorage, Alaska, Kynda holds a B.A. in Economics from Whitman College and an M.S. in Financial Services from the American College. After spending several years living in Spain and Germany, Kynda completed a Ph.D. in Economics at Washington State University (2003), where she specialized in agricultural marketing and econometrics. Before coming to Utah she spent seven years at the University of Nevada, Reno as an Assistant Professor and State Specialist.

Kynda’s research interests include international agriculture/food marketing, consumer economics and industrial organization. In her Extension appointment she works with agricultural producers to assist them in developing new markets for their products and assessing the feasibility of new food and agricultural products and value-added processes. She has received Extension program awards from the Agricultural and Applied Economics Association and the Western Agricultural Economics Association.

Kynda and her husband Izaak are hiking, skiing, and camping enthusiasts.
| Back to the Managing Volatility In Agriculture Web Seminar Series Speaker List |

---

Ag and the Tax Relief Act of 2010 Seminar

| Ruby Ward | Gary Hoff | Emcee – Trent Teegerstrom |
Click on the name of an Ag and the Tax Relief Act of 2010 Seminar speaker to learn more about them. – Back to Top -

Ag and the Tax Relief Act of 2010 – Key Changes for Farmers and Ranchers
Dr. Ruby Ward – February 7, 2011

Dr. Ruby Ward was raised on a farm and ranch in South-eastern Idaho. After graduating from Ricks College, she received a BS in Agricultural Economics and Accounting from Utah State University. From Texas A&M University she received an MBA and a PhD in Agricultural Economics.

Dr. Ward joined the faculty at Utah State University in 1998 and was tenured in 2005. Ward is currently an associate professor and extension specialist at Utah State University in the Department of Applied Economics. Her current assignment involves all three areas emphasized at a land grant University—teaching, research and extension.

She teaches agricultural finance and community planning. Ward is the committee chair for the Diversified Agricultural Conference. Ward is the project leader for the Rural Tax Education website and Co-chair of the National Farm Income Tax Extension Committee.

Ward works primarily in the area of rural development focusing on regional economics and agriculture entrepreneurship.

| Back to the Ag and the Tax Relief Act of 2010 Seminar Speaker List |

Ag and the Tax Relief Act of 2010 – Key Changes for Farmers and Ranchers
Dr. Gary Hoff – February 7, 2011

Gary Hoff grew up on a small grain and beef farm in western Ohio. Upon completing his Bachelor of Science degree at The Ohio State University, he began working for the Ohio Farm Bureau Federation in their farm records program. He later formed his own firm in Northeast Ohio where he specialized in farm accounting and taxation.

During this time he was also a seminar instructor for the National Association of Tax Professionals making presentations in over 40 states. In 1987, he merged his firm with AgriSolutions, Inc. and became their National Tax Manager.

Gary received his enrolled agent (E.A.) designation for the Internal Revenue Service. IRS awards this designation to tax professionals who successfully complete a two-day examination on all aspects of income tax. This designation allows him to represent taxpayers in matters before the IRS. To maintain the designation, he must meet annual continuing education requirements.

Gary began working for the University of Illinois Tax School in 2001. He is the editor of the Tax School workbook, a 700 page workbook which is produced each year and used in continuing education classes for over 13,000 tax professionals. He also writes tax articles and conducts various seminars each year.

He is a member of the National Association of Enrolled Agents, National Association of Tax Professionals, and the co-chairman of the National Farm Income Tax Extension Committee which meets with the IRS and assists with Publication 225, Farmer’s Tax Guide.

| Back to the Ag and the Tax Relief Act of 2010 Seminar Speaker List |

---

Farmers Dealing with the Commercialization of Cellulosic Biofuels Webinar

| Francis Epplin | Cole Gustafson | Emcee – John Hewlett |
Click on the name of a Farmers Dealing with the Commercialization of Cellulosic Biofuels Webinar speaker to learn more about them. – Back to Top -

Farmers Dealing with the Commercialization of Cellulosic Biofuels Webinar
Dr. Francis Epplin – April 20, 2011

Dr. Francis Epplin is Epplin’s research focuses on the economics of agricultural production and resource use. He conducts economic analysis of alternative crop and livestock production systems including the expected economics of dedicated energy crops.

“Our comprehensive field-to-biofuels models are designed to identify key cost components and potential bottlenecks, and to reveal opportunities for reducing costs and prioritizing research. The models can be used to determine for a specific region the most economical sources of biomass, optimal number of harvest machines, timing of harvest and storage, biorefinery size, biorefinery location, and conversion system. They can also be used to determine the biofuel price required for an economically viable cellulosic biofuel system. The ultimate goal is to develop a profitable business model.”

| Back to the Farmers Dealing with the Commercialization of Cellulosic Biofuels Webinar Speaker List |

Farmers Dealing with the Commercialization of Cellulosic Biofuels Webinar
Dr. Cole Gustafson – April 20, 2011

Dr. Gustafson is currently a professor and Biofuels Economist in the Department of Agribusiness and Applied Economics at North Dakota State University. In addition he is co-director of NDSU’s Bioenergy and Product Innovation Center (BioEPIC).

Dr. Gustafson teaches two classes, Elements of Economics and Macroeconomics which are entirely online and has won department, college and national teaching awards for his efforts.

His research responsibilities include development of financial risk management strategies for farms, biofuel/bioproduct firms, and the wind industry. As a researcher, he has authored more than 40 peer reviewed journal articles.

Recent Extension efforts include:
– Bi-weekly newsrelease “Energy Economics” which is widely published in region
– Authored national www.eXtension.org feedstock articles
– One of six team members creating energy beet to biofuel industry in ND
– University lead member creating wheat straw to biofuel plant in Spiritwood, ND
– Established North Dakota’s first biomass testing lab
– Creating biomass market trading standards
– Developed North Dakota’s searchable biomass inventory

In addition to serving as a faculty member, Dr. Gustafson has also served as Department Chair and Associate Dean, Research for the college.

Dr. Gustafson received his Ph.D. degree in Agricultural Economics from the University of Illinois. His M.S. degree in Agricultural Economics is from the University of Minnesota. He grew up on a crop livestock farm near Minneapolis, MN.

| Back to the Farmers Dealing with the Commercialization of Cellulosic Biofuels Webinar Speaker List |

---

Regional Perspectives on Economic Forces Shaping Land Asset Values

| Mike Duffy | Roger Cramer | Damona Doye | Emcee – Trent Teegerstrom |
Click on the name of a Regional Perspectives on Economic Forces Shaping Land Asset Values Webinar speaker to learn more about them. – Back to Top -

Regional Perspectives on Economic Forces Shaping Land Asset Values Webinar
Dr. Mike Duffy – December 13, 2011

Dr. Duffy received his Ph.D. in Ag. Economics from Penn State in 1981. He received a B.S. in Natural Resources from University of Nebraska in 1975 and an M.S. in Ag. Economics from Nebraska in 1977.

Dr. Duffy works as an Extension Economist in farm management at Iowa State University. He is the Director of Graduate Education in Sustainable Agriculture and he is the Director of the Iowa State University Beginning Farmer Center.

Dr. Duffy is currently responsible for the annual land value survey, cost of crop production estimates, Iowa farm costs and returns publication and he is state leader for the Extension Farm Financial Planning Program.

| Back to the Farmers Dealing with the Commercialization of Cellulosic Biofuels Webinar Speaker List |

Regional Perspectives on Economic Forces Shaping Land Asset Values Webinar
Mr. Roger Cramer – December 13, 2011

Roger Cramer is the Senior Vice President of Risk Management for Northwest Farm Credit Services, headquartered in Spokane, Washington. Roger manages both the Risk Management Department and the Collateral Services Department. Risk Management consists of four staff members and Collateral Services consists of 46 employees located in 19 different locations.

Roger has worked for Northwest FCS since 2004 and a total of 33 years in the Farm Credit System in various positions and locations including Iowa, Nebraska, California, and Washington. Roger has an undergraduate degree in Business Administration, a master’s degree in Organizational Leadership, and is working on a PhD in Leadership studies.

He graduated from the Graduate School of Banking program at the University of Colorado and attended the Advanced Risk Management program at the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania.

| Back to the Farmers Dealing with the Commercialization of Cellulosic Biofuels Webinar Speaker List |

Regional Perspectives on Economic Forces Shaping Land Asset Values Webinar
Dr. Damona Doye – December 13, 2011

Dr. Damona Doye is a farm management Extension economist, Regents Professor and Sarkeys Distinguished Professor at Oklahoma State University. She supervises the IFMAPS program which assists farmers and ranchers in developing business plans, is co-leader of the OSU Master Cattleman Program and provides leadership for several educational programs targeted to women in agriculture.

She is author or co-author of numerous publications on farm and ranch financial management topics, including record-keeping, rental rates, land values, and enterprise analysis. Damona also currently serves as Chair of the Board for the Council on Food, Agriculture and Resource Economics.

She has served on the Board of the Agricultural and Applied Economics Association (AAEA), as AAEA Extension Section Chair, Southern Agricultural Economics Association President, and as chair of both the North Central and Southern Farm Management Extension Committees.

| Back to the Farmers Dealing with the Commercialization of Cellulosic Biofuels Webinar Speaker List |

---

 

The Speed of Change: National Webconference

Session A – U.S and Domestic Trade Issues and the Near-term Implications for U.S. Agriculture
| Gregory Gilpin | Vincent Smith | Emcee – John Hewlett |
Session B – Current Conditions and Issues Facing U.S. Crop and Forage/Hay Producers
| Edward Usset | Randy Fortenbery | Shannon Neibergs | Emcee – Duane Giffith |
Session C – Current Conditions and Issues Facing U.S. Livestock and Dairy Producers
| Derrell Peel | Katelyn McCullock | Emcee – Shannon Neibergs |
Session D – Current Conditions and Issues Facing Specialty/niche Crop Producers and Trade Implications
| Trevor Suslow | Marco Palma | Emcee – Ramiro Lobo |
Click on the name of a Speed of Change speaker to learn more about them. – Back to Top -

The Speed of Change: Current Financial and Economic Conditions
Dr. Gregory Gilpin – March 14, 2012

Gregory Gilpin

Gregory Gilpin is an assistant professor at Montana State University. He received his Ph.D. from Indiana University in 2009 studying macroeconomics under Michael Kaganovich and Gerhard Glomm.

Upon graduating, he accepted an offer from Montana State University to teach courses in Macroeconomics. He also enjoys researching and has mainly studied the effects of public policy.

His research on public school teachers’ labor markets have been published in the prestigious Journal of Public Economics and Economics of Education Review, among others. He is currently studying the ballooning student loan market.

| Back to the Speed of Chanage Webconference Speaker List |

The Speed of Change: Policy Issues and Government Programs
Dr. Vincent Smith – March 14, 2012

Vincent Smith

Vincent H. Smith is Professor of Economics in the Department of Agricultural Economics and Economics at Montana State University and co-director of MSU’s Agricultural Marketing Policy Center. He received his Ph.D. from North Carolina State University in 1987 and his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Manchester in 1970 and 1971.

Dr. Smith’s current research program examines agricultural trade and domestic policy issues, with a particular focus on agricultural insurance, agricultural science policy, domestic and world commodity markets, risk management, and agricultural trade policy. He has authored and edited nine books and monographs and published over 140 articles and book chapters on agricultural economics, agricultural policy, and other economic issues.

In 2008, he became a Distinguished Scholar of the Western Agricultural Economics Association and in 2011 he received the Bruce Gardner Award for Outstanding Contributions to the economic analysis work of USDA.

| Back to the Speed of Chanage Webconference Speaker List |

The Speed of Change: Corn & Soybeans Outlook
Mr. Edward Usset – March 14, 2012

Edward Usset

Edward Usset serves as a Grain Marketing Specialist for the Center for Farm Financial Management at the University of Minnesota, the developers of FINPACK software and a variety of educational programs.

Working with his colleagues at CFFM and in extension, Ed developed the award winning “Winning the Game” series of workshops. He also helped develop “Tool Time,” a new series of workshops dedicated to understanding and using grain pricing tools. He teaches “Futures and Options Markets” at the University.

His first book, “Grain Marketing is Simple (it’s just not easy)” was released in September, 2007. You can reach him at usset001@umn.edu.

| Back to the Speed of Chanage Webconference Speaker List |

The Speed of Change: Wheat Outlook
Dr. Randy Fortenbery – March 14, 2012

Randy Fortenbery

Dr. T. Randall Fortenbery was recently appointed Professor and Endowed Chair in Grain Economics in the School of Economic Sciences at Washington State University. He previously held the Renk Professorship of Agribusiness and was Director of the Renk Agribusiness Institute in the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences and School of Business at the University of Wisconsin – Madison. In addition he was an Associate Director of the Wisconsin Bioenergy Initiative, a multi campus, multi disciplinary initiative focused on issues related to bioenergy development, production, and associated policy.

His research has three main focuses: 1) price discovery and risk management in agricultural and energy markets, 2) issues related to the economics of bio-energy, and 3) issues related to agricultural production and trade. From 1998 through 1999 he served as the Director of Research for Frontier Risk Management in Chicago. Frontier Risk Management is a commodity futures trading company whose customer base at the time included some of the largest agribusiness firms in the world.

Before joining the University of Wisconsin, Fortenbery was an Assistant Professor in the Department of Economics at North Carolina State University. He received a BS in Natural Resource Economics and an MS in Applied Economics from Montana State University. He received a Ph.D. in Agricultural Economics from the University of Illinois – Urbana/Champaign.

| Back to the Speed of Chanage Webconference Speaker List |

The Speed of Change: Hay & Forage Industry Outlook
Dr. Shannon Neibergs – March 14, 2012

Shannon Neibergs

Shannon Neibergs is an Extension Economist in the School of Economic Sciences at Washington State University and is the Director of the Western Center for Risk Management Education.

Shannon’s primary Extension effort is in applied economics related to livestock enterprises and risk management. As part of looking at the economics of livestock production systems, Shannon has completed hay outlook presentations for hay and livestock producers. Shannon has been involved with projects examining the economics of infectious animal disease and he is a co-PI on the National CAP grant – Integrated Program for Reducing Bovine Respiratory Disease in Beef and Dairy Cattle. Shannon also has several projects evaluating dairy nutrient waste management and the economics of anaerobic digestion.

As the Director of the Washington State University Extension Western Center for Risk Management Education, he provides leadership for Extension Risk Management Education in the 13 western states and U.S. Pacific Islands. The Western Center’s mission is to improve the ability of agricultural producers to manage the financial risks associated with their farming and ranching operations.

You may contact Shannon at sneibergs@WSU.edu or at 509-335-6360.

| Back to the Speed of Chanage Webconference Speaker List |

The Speed of Change: Livestock Markets and Policy Issues
Dr. Derrell Peel – March 14, 2012

Derrell Peel

Derrell Peel is the Charles Breedlove Professor of Agribusiness in the Department of Agricultural Economics. He has served as the Extension Livestock Marketing Specialist since he came to Oklahoma State University in 1989. He has B.S. and M.S. degrees from Montana State University and a Ph.D. from the University of Illinois.

He previously served as the Superintendent of the Southeastern Colorado Range Research Station in Springfield Colorado. His main program areas at Oklahoma State University include livestock market outlook and marketing/risk management education for livestock producers.

Derrell also works in the area of international livestock and meat trade with particular focus on Mexico and Canada and the North American livestock and meat industry. He lived in Mexico on sabbatical in 2001 and has developed an extensive knowledge of the Mexican cattle and beef industry and the economics of cattle and beef trade between the U.S. and Mexico.

| Back to the Speed of Chanage Webconference Speaker List |

The Speed of Change: Dairy industry Issues and Programs
Ms. Katelyn McCullock – March 14, 2012

Katelyn McCullock

Katelyn McCullock is Agricultural Economist at the Livestock Marketing Information Center (LMIC) and for 2 years has served as the Dairy and Forage Specialist. She has written several articles and newsletters on a variety of dairy and forage industry topics. Katelyn is has spoken at conferences throughout the United States.
 
Katelyn received degrees in Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness and Resource Management from Colorado State University and the University of Maine. Katelyn came to the LMIC to establish the Dairy Economist position.
 
The LMIC began in 1955 and is a unique cooperative effort that supports market education, research, and outlook. Currently Center partners include 28 US Land Grant Universities, Utah State University was a founding partner. The Center also includes six USDA agencies, and several associate organizations.

| Back to the Speed of Chanage Webconference Speaker List |

The Speed of Change: Overview of Food Safety Issues
Dr. Trevor Suslow – March 14, 2012

Trevor Suslow

Trevor Suslow is the extension research specialist at the University of California, Davis, Department of Plant Sciences with statewide responsibilities in postharvest quality and safety of perishable fresh and fresh-cut horticultural foods.

His emphasis on the role of environment and crop production practices on postharvest attributes of edible horticultural crops, microbial safety and disinfection of pre-harvest and postharvest water, biological control and other biologically mediated controls of postharvest diseases and pathogens of human food safety concern. For the past 16 years his program has combined lab and on-farm research related primarily to E. coli and Salmonella, in conventional and organic production systems, for the purpose of identifying opportunities for optimal microbial reductions and delivery of safe food to the consumer.

Trevor is a member of the Center for Produce Safety Advisory Board and Technical Advisory Board and leads the UCGAPs outreach program.

| Back to the Speed of Chanage Webconference Speaker List |

The Speed of Change: Economics of Food Safety
Dr. Marco Palma – March 14, 2012

Marco Palma

Marco Palma is an assistant professor and extension economist in the Agricultural Economics Department, Texas AgriLife Extension Service, Texas A&M University System.

Dr Palma’s responsibilities involve statewide leadership and coordination for extension educational programs and applied research in Horticultural Marketing by providing technical expertise and educational program development for industry audiences, such as producers, packers, and shippers, wholesale and retail trade.

Other relevant audiences include trade associations and federal and state professionals working with the Texas horticultural industries. Overall responsibilities involve individual and team efforts to plan, develop, implement and evaluate curricula, extension education programs and applied research related to the strategic marketing, risk management and policy/trade issues facing horticultural and nursery industry clientele.

| Back to the Speed of Chanage Webconference Speaker List |

---

Emcees – Jon Newkirk, Duane Griffith, John Hewlett, Ramiro Lobo, Shannon Neibergs & Trent Teegerstrom

Jon Newkirk

Jon Newkirk, a Washington State University Extension Economist, has program experience in ag and rural transportation, grain marketing, community building, and farm and risk management. Jon serves as Director of the WSU Western Center for Risk Management Education. The Western Center serves the 13 Western States and the US Pacific Islands with a results/outcome focused regional grant program designed to help farm and ranch families succeed.

In addition to his work as an economist, Jon’s professional career includes a wide range of experiences: refugee relief in SE Asia; self employed auto mechanic; registered public interest lobbyist; and Extension educator at the county level. His organizational leadership roles include positions with the NYS Department of Agriculture and Markets, Director of the WSU Puyallup Research and Extension Center, as well as serving as County Chair for the WSU Extension Spokane and Adams County Extension Offices.

---

Duane Griffith

Duane Griffith is an Extension Farm Management Specialist with Montana State University.  His interests include production economics and financial analysis covering all aspects of farm and ranch business performance.

His educational curriculum includes crop and livestock enterprise analysis, machinery management, marketing of agricultural commodities, complete farm and ranch financial analysis and emerging risk management issues for agricultural operations.

Griffith also develops on-farm decision aids for farmers and ranchers to analyze their operations.  These decision aids are typically in the form of Excel spreadsheets and are available for download from the Web address listed below.

Web address:

http://www.montana.edu/softwaredownloads/

---

John Hewlett

John Hewlett is a Farm/ranch Management Specialist at the University of Wyoming and member of the regional RightRisk and Risk Navigator teams. He also coordinated past efforts of the regional WIRE program.

He grew up in Washington State, where he worked eight years (four as foreman) on a large stocker-cattle/crop operation. John holds a BS degree in Agricultural Business from Montana State University and a M.S. degree in Agricultural Economics from Oregon State University.

He came to the University of Wyoming, Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics in 1987. Since then he has been involved in a number of state and regional extension programs, receiving four Western Agricultural Economics Association awards for outstanding extension programs, two UW Cooperative Extension awards for creative excellence, one American Agricultural Economics Association award for professional excellence, the Jim DeBree Excellence in Cooperative Extension award, and six other regional or national awards.

John’s current extension interests include risk management, integrated management, enterprise assessment, financial analysis, recordkeeping, and applications of technology in agricultural.

He and his family operate a small farm/ranch 20 miles outside of Laramie, Wyoming where they have several commercial small animal enterprises.

---

Ramiro Lobo

Ramiro Lobo has been a Small Farm and Agricultural Economics Advisor with the University of California Cooperative Extension in San Diego County since 1997. His primary responsibility is to conduct research and educational activities to support small-scale agricultural producers in San Diego County.

Ramiro’s work has focused primarily on educating small scale producers on topics related to agricultural business and risk management, new crop development and evaluation, new entry grower and startup information, market development through agricultural tourism and direct marketing efforts, and farm and pesticide safety education.

His current research efforts has focused on evaluating several cultivars of pitahaya or dragon fruit for adaptation to Southern California climate and as a commercially viable crop alternative for small scale farmers in California. These efforts have resulted in increased acreage dedicated to pitahaya or dragon fruit production, increased awareness among consumers, and increased availability of the fruit at local farmers markets and retail outets in Southern California.

---

Shannon Neibergs

Shannon Neibergs is an Extension Economist in the School of Economic Sciences at Washington State University and is the Director of the Western Center for Risk Management Education.

Shannon’s primary Extension effort is in applied economics related to livestock enterprises and risk management. As part of looking at the economics of livestock production systems, Shannon has completed hay outlook presentations for hay and livestock producers. Shannon has been involved with projects examining the economics of infectious animal disease and he is a co-PI on the National CAP grant – Integrated Program for Reducing Bovine Respiratory Disease in Beef and Dairy Cattle. Shannon also has several projects evaluating dairy nutrient waste management and the economics of anaerobic digestion.

As the Director of the Washington State University Extension Western Center for Risk Management Education, he provides leadership for Extension Risk Management Education in the 13 western states and U.S. Pacific Islands. The Western Center’s mission is to improve the ability of agricultural producers to manage the financial risks associated with their farming and ranching operations.

You may contact Shannon at sneibergs@WSU.edu or at 509-335-6360.

---

Trent Teegerstrom

Trent Teegerstrom is an associate Specialist with the Department of Ag and Resource Economics at the University of Arizona. Trent has been involved in production agriculture all his life. He has worked with a variety of agricultural enterprises including dry-land farming in the mid-west; irrigated agriculture in the southwest; and livestock production in the northeast, mountain west, and southwest. He has also worked with fruit and vegetable producers in the northeast and southwest.

He joined the University of Arizona’s Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics in 1997 after spending the previous two years as a Farm Business Management Specialist with Cornell Cooperative Extension working in farm finance and risk management areas. His main area of concentration is production economics, Tribal agriculture, risk management and agricultural labor issues.

---

Webinars by Topic: (click a title to see the list of speakers for each topic covered)
| Managing in the Face of Uncertain Credit | Managing in the Face of Uncertain Markets | Families Facing Uncertainty in Agriculture | Operating in Risky Environments | Managing Enterprises in Uncertain times | Managing Volatility In Agriculture | Ag and the Tax Relief Act of 2010 | Back to the Farmers Dealing with the Commercialization of Cellulosic Biofuels Webinar Speaker List | Regional Perspectives on Economic Forces Shaping Land Asset Values |
– Back to Top -