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  • A Guide to Biotechnology in Crop Production
    North Carolina Agricultural Cooperative Extension Service

    This publication is intended to help readers gain a basic understanding of biotechnology and its application in plant agriculture. It also discusses some of the potential benefits and drawbacks of biotechnology.
  • An Introduction to Federal Crop Insurance Products for New and Beginning Wyoming Farmers and Ranchers
    James B. Johnson, Vincent H. Smith and John P. Hewlett*, Agricultural Marketing Policy Center, Montana State University Cooperative Extension Service,  May 2018
        * University of Wyoming Extension Educator

    Federal crop insurance products have been available to farmers in the United States for 80 years. Beginning in the early 1990s, the range of products offered by the USDA Risk Management Agency expanded, and today farmers have access to federal crop insurance for most of the crops they grow. Currently, nationally farmers can obtain insurance for over 140 crops and forages. Over the past several years, coverage has become widely available for crops produced under organic practices at price elections based on prices that reflect organic premiums. Wyoming farmers, especially new and beginning farmers, need to understand these features and the information they will need to obtain federal crop insurance coverage.
  • A Request for Actuarial Change
    James B. Johnson, Briefing Paper, Agricultural Marketing Policy Center, Montana State University Cooperative Extension Service,  November, 2001
  • Agricultural Biotechnology: Before You Judge
    Marshall A. Martin, Jean R. Riepe, April C. Mason and Peter E. Dunn, Cooperative Extension Service Purdue University, July 1996
    After you read this publication, we hope that you will be better prepared to judge for yourself the contributions that biotechnology may make to our food and agricultural system.
  • Agricultural Risk Management: The Case of Wildlife Risks
    Benjamin S. Rashford, Jared M. Grant and John P. Hewlett, University of Wyoming, November
    2009
    When agriculture, wildlife, and risk are mentioned in the same sentence, thoughts often turn to risks agricultural production imposes on wildlife (e.g., habitat degradation and pesticide exposure). The imposition of risk can, however, work in the other direction as well. Wildlife populations on agricultural land create a unique set of risks for producers, few of which are considered in traditional risk management discussions.
  • Assessing New Technology
    Michael Duffy, Iowa State University, April 1998
    New technologies can represent a totally new way of doing things, a modification in current practices, or simply a refinement of current technology.
  • Bt Corn & European Corn Borer
    K.R. Ostlie, W.D. Hutchison, & R. L. Hellmich, University of Minnesota Extension Service, 1997
    This publication provides an overview of Bt corn, an innovative technology for managing European corn borer, and discusses how to use this technology for long-term profitability.
  • Canola: Production, Uses, and Exports
    Kevin McNew and Sam Bixley, Briefing Paper, Agricultural Marketing Policy Center, Montana State University Cooperative Extension Service,  November, 2001
  • Commodity Title of the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 - Wyoming
    James B. Johnson, Kevin McNew, and Vince H. Smith, a presentation on Risk Management Education for Irrigated and Targeted Commodities in Wyoming - PART IV,  Agricultural Marketing Policy Center, Montana State University Cooperative Extension Service,  November, 2002
  • Common Crop (COMBO) Policy, The
    Vincent H. Smith, James B. Johnson and John P. Hewlett*, Agricultural Marketing Policy Center, Montana State University Cooperative Extension Service,  July 2012.
        * University of Wyoming Extension Educator

    Beginning with the 2011 crop year, the United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Risk Management Agency (RMA) introduced an initiative to combine and simplify crop insurance. RMA released the Common Crop Insurance Policy Basic Provisions and related Crop Provisions as the insurance policy basis for crop insurance coverage. The new policy is widely described as the COMBO Policy because it explicitly combines APH revenue and APH yield insurance in one general policy and creates a single APH revenue program for each of the commodities that are eligible for APH-based revenue coverage.
  • Crop Insurance
    Kathi Rynning, Crop Insurance Agents of America, October 1998
    PowerPoint slide presentation providing an overview of current crop insurance plans.
  • Crop Insurance Alternatives for Hay in South Dakota
    Matthew A. Diersen, Extension Risk and Business Management Specialist, South Dakota State University 2002
    Crop insurance for hay is a relatively new idea in much of South Dakota. After a few years as a pilot program, federal forage crop insurance was offered statewide for the 2001 crop year. Producers, crop insurance agents , and regulatory agencies had a  . . .
  • Crop Insurance as a Tool
    Chris Bastian, University of Wyoming Cooperative Extension Service, December 1999
    There are several approaches to address income variability associated with production risk.  One tool that can reduce income variability or meet cash flow requirements in the face of production risk is crop insurance.
  • Crop Insurance for Alfalfa Seed Production: A Pilot Program Available in Select Wyoming Counties
    James B. Johnson and John P. Hewlett* Agricultural Marketing Policy Center, Montana State University Cooperative Extension Service,  July, 2006.
        * University of Wyoming Extension Educator

    In several western states including Wyoming a federally-subsidized multiple peril crop insurance product approved by the Risk Management Agency is offered on a pilot basis for forage seed production. In Big Horn and Park counties irrigated alfalfa seed production grown under certification standards or grown under an alfalfa seed contract is insurable. Insurance is provided against the following. . . .
  • Crop Insurance for Replanted Crops
    William Edwards, Iowa State University, University Extension, July 1998
    Hail, floods, and torrential rains have caused many farmers to replant corn and soybean fields. Some producers are still debating whether replanting is justified.
  • (Crop Insurance) Product Availability - Montana
    James B. Johnson, Kevin McNew, and Gary Brester, a presentation on Risk Management Education for Irrigated and Targeted Commodities in Montana - PART III,  Agricultural Marketing Policy Center, Montana State University Cooperative Extension Service,  November, 2002
  • (Crop Insurance) Product Availability - Wyoming
    James B. Johnson, Kevin McNew, and Gary Brester, a presentation on Risk Management Education for Irrigated and Targeted Commodities in Wyoming - PART III,  Agricultural Marketing Policy Center, Montana State University Cooperative Extension Service,  November, 2002
  • Crop Revenue Coverage (CRC) Insurance
    Gary Schnitkey, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, April 1999
    CRC is revenue insurance protecting against low yields, low prices, or a combination of low yields and low prices.
  • Crop Subsidy and Crop Insurance for Wyoming Farmers in a New 2013/14 Farm Bill
    Vincent H. Smith, James B. Johnson and John P. Hewlett*, Agricultural Marketing Policy Center, Montana State University Cooperative Extension Service,  July 2013.
        * University of Wyoming Extension Educator

    Farm policy is in flux and the future of many farm subsidy programs is in question. Nevertheless, it is useful for all farm and ranch managers to understand the structure of the types of new crop subsidy programs included the 2013 farm bills proposed by the House and Senate Agricultural Committees and how those programs may be linked to, and influence a farm’s participation in the federal crop insurance program.
  • Disaster and Casualty Losses
    Dr. Mike L. Hardin, Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service, August 1996
    The income tax code provides partial relief in the form of tax benefits that are available to taxpayers who have experienced a casualty loss in an area declared to be a disaster by the President.
  • Diversification Issues - Montana
    James B. Johnson, Kevin McNew, and Gary Brester, a presentation on Risk Management Education for Irrigated and Targeted Commodities in Montana - PART II,  Agricultural Marketing Policy Center, Montana State University Cooperative Extension Service,  November, 2002
  • Diversification Issues - Wyoming
    James B. Johnson, Kevin McNew, and Gary Brester, a presentation on Risk Management Education for Irrigated and Targeted Commodities in Wyoming - PART II,  Agricultural Marketing Policy Center, Montana State University Cooperative Extension Service,  November, 2002
  • Economics of Bt Corn: Adoption Implications, The
    Jeffrey Hyde, Marshall A. Martin, Paul V. Preckel and C. Richard Edwards, Cooperative Extension Service Purdue University, August 1998
    Several varieties of transgenic corn have recently become available.   In this case, the gene is taken from a naturally occurring soil bacterium known as Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt).
  • Electronic Precision Farming Institute, The
    The Site-Specific Farming Group, Purdue University, 1988
    The electronic Precision Farming Institute was developed as a WWW site for display of the latest information available on precision farming technologies.
        Link to site that is updated monthly
  • Emergency Assistance for Livestock, Honey Bees, and Farm-Raised Fish Program (ELAP): Wyoming
    Vincent H. Smith, James B. Johnson, and John P. Hewlett*, Agricultural Marketing Policy Center, Montana State University Cooperative Extension Service,  January, 2010
        * University of Wyoming Extension Educator

    The Emergency Assistance for Livestock, Honeybees, and Farm-Raised Fish Program (ELAP) provides emergency assistance to eligible producers of livestock, honeybees, and farm-raised fish who have losses due to disease, adverse weather, or other conditions, including losses due to blizzards, or wildfire, as determined by the Secretary of Agriculture.
  • Enterprise Budgeting
    Rod Sharp and Dennis A. Kaan, Cooperative Extension Service Colorado State University, December 1999
    One of the most basic and important production decisions is choosing the combination of products or enterprises to produce.  The objective of a farm manager must be to evaluate which combination of enterprises will meet the goals and objectives of the farm/ranch  . . .
  • Enterprise Diversification: Will it Reduce Your Risk?
    Chris Bastian and Larry Held, University of Wyoming, December 1999
    There are several approaches to address income variability associated with production risk.  Product or enterprise diversification may reduce income variability if all product prices and yields are not low or high at the same time.
  • Fire Prevention and Safety on the Farm
    Patricia McKeown, University of Wisconsin-Extension, June 1994
    Without prevention and safe management practices, you put your own life at risk, as well as that of family members, employees and animals.
  • Flaxseed: Production, Uses, and Exports
    Kevin McNew and Sam Bixley, Briefing Paper, Agricultural Marketing Policy Center, Montana State University Cooperative Extension Service,  November, 2001
  • Fraud Prevention and Tools of the Trade - North Dakota
    Mark Price, Senior Investigator, Risk Management Agency Special Investigation Branch, a presentation at the Tenth Annual Crop Insurance Conference, Fargo, ND - January 20, 2003
  • Group Risk Income Protection
    James B. Johnson and John P. Hewlett* Agricultural Marketing Policy Center, Montana State University Cooperative Extension Service,  July, 2006.
        * University of Wyoming Extension Educator

    Group Risk Income Protection (GRIP) is a federally-subsidized risk management tool to insure against widespread loss of revenue from an insured crop in a county. Crop producers whose yields are highly correlated with county yield are most likely to use this product to insure that the combination of yield and price results in a particular level of revenue. Unlike the related Risk Management Agency-approved. . . .
  • Group Risk Plan (GRP)
    USDA, Risk Management Agency, September 1997
    The Group Risk Plan (GRP) of insurance is designed as a risk management tool to insure against widespread loss of production of the insured crop in a county.
  • GRP Rangeland Insurance For Montana
    Gary Brester, John P. Hewlett*, and James B. Johnson,  Agricultural Marketing Policy Center, Montana State University Cooperative Extension Service,  November, 2005 (revised)
        * University of Wyoming Extension Educator

    A new Group Risk Plan (GRP) Rangeland Insurance product is being offered by USDA's Risk Management Agency (RMA) in 39 Montana counties. For counties in which this insurance product is not offered, USDA's Farm Service Agency continues to offer the Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program. . . .
  • GRP Rangeland Insurance For Wyoming
    John P. Hewlett*, Gary Brester, and James B. Johnson,  Agricultural Marketing Policy Center, Montana State University Cooperative Extension Service,  November, 2005 (revised)
        * University of Wyoming Extension Educator

    A new Group Risk Plan (GRP) Rangeland Insurance product is being offered by USDA's Risk Management Agency (RMA) in 10 Wyoming counties. For counties in which this insurance product is not offered, USDA's Farm Service Agency continues to offer the Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program. . . .
  • Guidelines for a Production Record Management System
    Federal Crop Insurance Corporation (FCIC) with assistance from the Extension Service and crop insurance companies,  March 1995.
    The Federal Crop Insurance Act of 1980 established Actual Production History (APH) as a basis for yield guarantees. Enactment of the Federal Crop Insurance Reform Act of 1994 placed additional emphasis on yield guarantees based on APH. This booklet provides forms and guidance for developing and recording production records for each insured unit by production practice and type. . . . .
  • Handling Stress
    Suzanna D. Smith and Nayda I. Torres, University of Florida Cooperative Extension Service, November 1992
    Whatever the crisis hurricane, fire, tornado or flood some thought and action before the disaster hits can usually help family members react wisely.
  • Harvested Roughage and Rangeland Production Risk Management in Montana-Crop Insurance
    James B. Johnson, Briefing Paper, Agricultural Marketing Policy Center, Montana State University Cooperative Extension Service,  February 2003
    As drought continues in some areas of Montana, farm and ranch managers are increasingly seeking production risk management tools for forage seeding and harvested roughages such as forage and corn silage, rangeland.
  • Have Farming Risks Changed?
    James B. Johnson and Vincent H. Smith, Montana State University
    Farm and ranch managers have been informed by many United States Department of Agriculture and university economists that they are now managing their crops in a riskier environment.
      
    Farmer-Stockman, July 1998
  • Income Protection (IP) Insurance
    Gary Schnitkey, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, April 1999
    IP is revenue insurance protecting against low prices, low yields, or a combination of low prices and low yields, and makes indemnity payments when gross revenue falls below a revenue guarantee.
  • Insurance for the Minor Crops - North Dakota
    James B. Johnson, Professor and Extension Farm/Ranch Management Specialist, Montana State University, a presentation at the Tenth Annual Crop Insurance Conference, Fargo, ND - January 20, 2003
  • Insuring Success for Wyoming Agriculture 2008: Insurance & Risk Management Course
    John P. Hewlett, University of Wyoming Cooperative Extension Service, James B. Johnson, Montana State University Cooperative Extension, and Chris Bastian, University of Wyoming, Feb. 2008.

    A six-hour CD and internet-based course covering insurance products and risk management alternatives available to Wyoming agricultural producers. The course is divided into 12 lessons discussing the sources of risk, strategic management, insurance available for the major crops in Wyoming, other risk management practices, and a risk self-assessment. Also included are a glossary, resource links for further research, and many other features. This course contains updated information for 2008 with three sections of new material.
  • Introduction to Managing Risk on Specialty and Organic Crop and Livestock Operations
    Vincent H. Smith, James B. Johnson, and John P. Hewlett*, Agricultural Marketing Policy Center, Montana State University Cooperative Extension Service, August 2016.
        * University of Wyoming Extension Educator

    Increasingly, many farms are choosing to focus substantial amounts of their available resources, or even the whole farm or ranch, to specialty and organic crop and livestock enterprises. This bulletin examines the risks associated with specialty and organic farm enterprises and discusses in general terms the various private and federally supported risk management products and programs that can be used to address them.
  • IRM Learning Teams
    Harlan Hughes and Chris Bastian, North Dakota State University, 1996
    The objective of this fact sheet is discuss the role that Integrated Resource Management (IRM) Learning Teams can play in helping beef farmers and ranchers formulate a management action plan designed specifically for the current tough times.
  • Irrigated Pasture Spreadsheet
    John A. Deering and D. Bruce Bosley, Colorado State University Extension, 2008
    This spreadsheet allows users to explore the costs and returns associated with grazing livestock on irrigated pasture at various stocking rates. The default values are for steers grazing in northeastern Colorado.
  • Lentils: Production, Uses, and Exports
    Kevin McNew and Sam Bixley, Briefing Paper, Agricultural Marketing Policy Center, Montana State University Cooperative Extension Service,  November, 2001
  • Livestock Forage Disaster Program (LFP): Wyoming
    James B. Johnson, John P. Hewlett*, and Vincent H. Smith, Agricultural Marketing Policy Center, Montana State University Cooperative Extension Service,  February, 2010
        * University of Wyoming Extension Educator

    The Livestock Forage Disaster Program (LFP) provides compensation to eligible livestock producers who have suffered grazing losses because of qualifying drought or fire. The eligible grazing losses must occur within the same calendar year the benefits are being requested. Compensation provided under LFP can be used for any purpose by the program participant.
  • Livestock Indemnity Program (LIP): Montana
    James B. Johnson & Vincent H. Smith, Agricultural Marketing Policy Center, Montana State University Cooperative Extension Service,  January, 2010.
    The Livestock Indemnity Program provides payments to eligible livestock owners and contract growers for livestock death losses in excess of normal mortality due to adverse weather. LIP does not have a risk management purchase requirement for program benefit eligibility.
  • Livestock Risk Protection for Fed Cattle in Wyoming
    James B. Johnson and John P. Hewlett* Agricultural Marketing Policy Center, Montana State University Cooperative Extension Service,  May 2006.
        * University of Wyoming Extension Educator

    Federally-subsidized yield and/or revenue crop insurance products are offered in many counties in Wyoming. LRP-Fed Cattle is designed to insure against declining market prices for fed cattle. Specifically, the producer is insured against a decline in national fed cattle prices below an established coverage price. . . .
  • Livestock Risk Protection for Swine in Wyoming
    James B. Johnson and John P. Hewlett* Agricultural Marketing Policy Center, Montana State University Cooperative Extension Service,  May, 2006.
        * University of Wyoming Extension Educator

    Federally-subsidized yield and/or revenue crop insurance products are offered in many counties in Wyoming. LRP-Swine is designed to insure against declining market prices for hogs. Specifically, a producer can insure against a decline in national hog prices below an established coverage price. . . .
  • Managing Forage and Rangeland Production Risks on Wyoming Ranches: NAP, LFP, and PRF-VI
    James B. Johnson, Vincent H. Smith, and John P. Hewlett*, Agricultural Marketing Policy Center, Montana State University Cooperative Extension Service, July 2015.
        * University of Wyoming Extension Educator

    Wyoming ranch managers are increasingly seeking production risk management tools for harvested forage production and grass production on rangeland. Forage production and rangeland production risks can be addressed to some degree by using the Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program (NAP) provided by the Farm Service Agency (FSA) of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).
  • Managing Forage Production Risk in the Western States: The Role of PRF Rainfall Index Insurance
    James B. Johnson, Vincent H. Smith, and John P. Hewlett*, Agricultural Marketing Policy Center, Montana State University Cooperative Extension Service, May 2019.
        * University of Wyoming Extension Educator

    Ranchers in the western United States now have access to a range of federally subsidized crop insurance products to facilitate their ability to manage hayland and grazingland production risks. Many of these insurance plans address multiple perils such as drought, hail, fire, and insect infestation. In recent years, however, ranchers in western states have begun to use a single peril insurance product, the Pasture, Rangeland, Forage Rainfall Index (RI- PRF) plan to provide protection against losses of hay and forage production caused by a single peril, inadequate precipitation.
  • Managing Price Risk through the Livestock Risk Protection Insurance Plan in the Western United States
    James B. Johnson, Vincent H. Smith, and John P. Hewlett*, Agricultural Marketing Policy Center, Montana State University Cooperative Extension Service, May 2019.
        * University of Wyoming Extension Educator

    In 2003, RMA introduced a Livestock Risk Protection (LRP) insurance product to offer protection against unexpected reductions in the prices expected for livestock at the time the producer anticipates the livestock will be sold. The purpose of LRP is offset the risk of price declines below the price, as established by RMA, that is expected to exist at the time the livestock covered under the policy are expected to be sold. The focus of this briefing is to describe the LRP for feeder cattle, the category of livestock raised most extensively in many western states, and the potential use of LRP as a price risk management tool by producers in those states.
  • Managing Production Risks
    Jo Lynne Seufer, USDA Risk Management Agency, December 1998
    The objective of this module, Managing Production Risks, is to give agricultural producers additional knowledge about the sources of production risk and the tools and options they could consider in managing those risks. The information will also provide an ideal . . .
  • Managing Production Risks - PowerPoint Slides
    Jo Lynne Seufer, USDA Risk Management Agency, December 1998
    The objective of this module, Managing Production Risks, is to give agricultural producers additional knowledge about the sources of production risk and the tools and options they could consider in managing those risks. The information will also provide an ideal . . .
  • Managing Your Production Risk
    Chris Bastian, University of Wyoming
    New farm legislation and freer global trade will lead to changes that will increase risks to producers in the years to come. Agricultural producers experience risks unknown to those involved with. . .
      
    Farmer-Stockman, Aug. 1998
  • Managing Your Production Risk: An Overview of the Tools You Can Use
    Chris Bastian, University of Wyoming Cooperative Extension Service, December 1999
    Anything that can affect your crop yields or livestock performance creates risks, which could keep you from attaining your financial goals.  A more stable income can make the difference between having a resilient firm that can survive and adapt or experiencing business failure.
  • Millet: Production, Uses, and Exports
    Kevin McNew and Sam Bixley, Briefing Paper, Agricultural Marketing Policy Center, Montana State University Cooperative Extension Service,  November, 2001
  • Multiple Peril Crop Insurance (MPCI)
    USDA, Risk Management Agency, September 1997
    Multiple Peril Crop Insurance (MPCI) provides comprehensive protection against weather-related causes of loss and certain other unavoidable perils.
  • Mustard: Production, Uses, and Exports
    Kevin McNew and Sam Bixley, Briefing Paper, Agricultural Marketing Policy Center, Montana State University Cooperative Extension Service,  November, 2001
  • NAVIGATING DROUGHT IN WYOMING
    Brian Sebade, editor; T. Bergantino, Wyoming State Climate Office; J. Ritten, C. Bastian, S. Paisley, UW Departments of Agricultural and Applied Economics and Animal Science; A. Garrelts, M. Smith, G. Owings, D. Tekiela, B. Horn, UW Extension; John P. Hewlett, UW Departments of Agricultural and Applied Economics; A. Islam and D. Ashilenje, UW Department of Plant Sciences; V. Sharma, UW Department of Plant Sciences; W. Kelley, USDA Northern Plains Regional Climate Hub; S. Cotton, UW Extension; C. Eberle, UW Department of Plant Sciences; G. Owings, UW Extension; C. Carter, UW Extension; C. Marshall, UW Extension; J. Lukas, Western Water Assessment - U. of Colorado, Boulder and A. Ray, NOAA’s Earth System Research Physical Sciences Division, Boulder. University of Wyoming Extension. University of Wyoming.  June 2018
    Navigating Drought in Wyoming was developed to help the agriculture community identify, prepare, and negotiate drought impacts. Even though this publication is agriculture-focused, we attempt to show the different types of drought perspectives that affect everyone in the state. “Drought” has various definitions, perspectives, and implications depending on how insufficient moisture affects each person or agricultural operation. The term “drought” is discussed and outlined with specific ramifications and impacts in a paper by Thurow, Thomas and Taylor, Charles, “Viewpoint: The Role of Drought in Range Management.” Journal of Range Management, vol. 52, no.5, September 1999, pp. 413-419, including four, specific perspectives: 1) meteorological 2) agricultural 3) hydrologic 4) socio-economic..
  • New Programs in the 2014 Farm Bill: Price Loss Coverage, Agricultural Risk Coverage and the Supplemental Coverage Agricultural Insurance Option for Wyoming Farms and Ranches
    Vincent H. Smith, James B. Johnson and John P. Hewlett*, Agricultural Marketing Policy Center, Montana State University Cooperative Extension Service,  July 2014.
        * University of Wyoming Extension Educator

    The Agricultural Act of 2014 was signed into law on February 17, 2014 by President Obama. The Act, widely referred to as the 2014 Farm Bill, introduces major changes in many U.S. farm programs that are important for farm and ranch owners and managers in Wyoming. Under the provisions of the 2014 Farm Bill, several long standing programs related to farmers’ and ranchers’ risk management decisions that have been widely used by Wyoming agricultural producers were terminated or are being phased out while several new programs have been introduced.
  • Nursery Crop Insurance in Wyoming
    James B. Johnson and John P. Hewlett* Agricultural Marketing Policy Center, Montana State University Cooperative Extension Service,  September 2006.
        * University of Wyoming Extension Educator

    Multiple peril crop insurance for nursery production has been available since 1989 for nurseries that received at least 50 percent of their gross income from wholesale marketing of nursery plants. Multiple peril nursery crop insurance is available to wholesale nurseries in all Wyoming counties. Nursery crop insurance covers field grown and containerized nursery plants. . . .
  • Opportunities for Organic Crop Production
    Lee Anne Dust Schroeder and Stephen B. Lovejoy, Cooperative Extension Service Purdue University, October 1995
    In summary, any farmers considering production of organic commodities must consider their access to certifiable acres, their skills at producing without many of the nutrients and pesticides . . .
  • Partial Budgeting
    Norm Dalsted and Paul Gutierrez, Cooperative Extension Service Colorado State University, December 1999
    One of the most helpful practices a manager can adopt is to plan for the future, particularly an uncertain one.  Budgets help the manager to organize financial and physical planning.  The partial budget, helps the manager evaluate the economic effect of minor adjustments . . .
  • Pasture, Rangeland and Forage (PRF) Rainfall Index Insurance: A New Group Risk Plan Available in Montana
    Vincent H. Smith, James B. Johnson and John P. Hewlett*, Agricultural Marketing Policy Center, Montana State University Cooperative Extension Service,  April 2009.
        * University of Wyoming Extension Educator

    The Pasture, Rangeland and Forage (PRF) Rainfall Index Insurance product allows producers to obtain indemnities when rainfall is below average, resulting in widespread reductions in pasture or forage production in designated area called a grid. The Group Risk Plan (GRP) insurance product is primarily intended for use by producers whose forage production (feed for livestock comprised of plants grown for haying or grazing) is closely linked to rainfall, as measured by a rainfall index, for a grid.
  • Pasture, Rangeland and Forage (PRF) Vegetation Index Insurance: A New Group Risk Plan Available in Wyoming
    Vincent H. Smith, James B. Johnson and John P. Hewlett*, Agricultural Marketing Policy Center, Montana State University Cooperative Extension Service,  June 2009.
        * University of Wyoming Extension Educator

    The Pasture, Rangeland and Forage (PRF) Vegetation Index Insurance product allows producers to cover losses of grazingland production, hayland production, or both. The PRF Vegetation Index insurance product allows producers to obtain indemnities when widespread reductions in pasture or forages occur in a designated area called a grid, a 4.8-mile by 4.8-mile area where forage is located.
  • Pasture, Rangeland, Forage (PRF) Pilot Insurance Program: Rainfall and Vegetation Index Plans from RightRiskTM
    Rodney Sharp, Colorado State University Cooperative Extension, John P. Hewlett, University of Wyoming Cooperative Extension, and Jeffrey E. Tranel, Colorado State University Cooperative Extension, August 2010.

    A two-hour CD and internet-based course covering: An introduction to PRF, Using the Grid Locator, Rainfall Index, Scenario 1 - The Timmerman Family Farm, LLC, Scenario 2 - Adam's Hay, Vegetation Index, Scenario 3 - Double R Ranch, and Calculating Premiums. Also included are a glossary, resource links for further research, and many other features.
  • Planting Date Affects Crop Insurance Coverage
    William Edwards, Iowa State University, University Extension, July 1998
    Torrential rains, floods, and hail have forced some farmers to delay planting corn and soybeans. The date of planting affects the level of crop insurance protection in effect.
  • Precision Farming: An Introduction
    Simon Blackmore, Cranfield University

    Traditional arable management practice has developed towards managing fields uniformly and has tended to ignore the inherent spatial variability found on most farms...
  • Price, Production, and Business Risk
    Gary Brester, James B. Johnson and Vincent Smith, Presentation, Agricultural Marketing Policy Center, Montana State University Cooperative Extension Service,  January 2003
  • Production Risk - Montana
    James B. Johnson, Kevin McNew, and Gary Brester, a presentation on Risk Management Education for Irrigated and Targeted Commodities in Montana - PART I,  Agricultural Marketing Policy Center, Montana State University Cooperative Extension Service,  November, 2002
  • Production Risk - Wyoming
    James B. Johnson, Kevin McNew, and Gary Brester, a presentation on Risk Management Education for Irrigated and Targeted Commodities in Wyoming - PART I,  Agricultural Marketing Policy Center, Montana State University Cooperative Extension Service,  November, 2002
  • Production Risk Management
    Gary Brester, James B. Johnson and Vincent Smith, Presentation, Agricultural Marketing Policy Center, Montana State University Cooperative Extension Service,  January 2003
  • Production Risk Management-2001
    Gary Brester, James Johnson, Vincent Smith, Kevin McNew, Agricultural Marketing Policy Center, Montana State University Cooperative Extension Service,  November, 2001
  • Production Risk Management for Wyoming Ranches: The Future for Federal Disaster Programs
    Vincent H. Smith, James B. Johnson and John P. Hewlett*, Agricultural Marketing Policy Center, Montana State University Cooperative Extension Service,  July 2013.
        * University of Wyoming Extension Educator

    Wyoming ranchers know they are involved in risky enterprises and use a wide range of tools to manage risk and reduce the chances that they will suffer financial losses. Changes in the future operation of, and funding levels for some of these permanent disaster programs are under consideration in Congress as efforts to formulate a new 2013 farm bill move forward.
  • Production Risk Management for Wyoming Ranches: The Supplemental Federal Agricultural Disaster Programs
    James B. Johnson, Vincent H. Smith and John P. Hewlett*, Agricultural Marketing Policy Center, Montana State University Cooperative Extension Service,  July 2014.
        * University of Wyoming Extension Educator

    Wyoming ranchers are involved in risky enterprises and use a wide range of tools to manage risk and reduce the chances that they will suffer financial losses. The Agricultural Act of 2014, passed February 7, 2014, makes the Livestock Forage Disaster Program, Livestock Indemnity Payments, and Emergency Assistance of Livestock, Honey Bees, and Farm-Raised Fish permanent and provides for retroactive authority to cover eligible losses back to October 1, 2011.
  • Production Risk Management in Montana
    James B. Johnson, Annual Conference Presentation, Agricultural Marketing Policy Center, Montana State University Cooperative Extension Service,  March 2003
  • Production Risk Management Options for Wyoming Ranches: Crop Insurance and Federal Disaster Programs
    Vincent H. Smith, James B. Johnson, and John P. Hewlett*, Agricultural Marketing Policy Center, Montana State University Cooperative Extension Service,  August, 2011
        * University of Wyoming Extension Educator

    Ranchers know they are involved in risky enterprises and use a wide range of tools to manage risk and reduce the chances that they will suffer financial losses. Increasingly, federal insurance for agricultural commodities offered by the Federal Crop Insurance Corporation has become an important and attractive risk management tool for ranchers. This paper provides detailed descriptions of three disaster programs authorized under the 2008 Farm Bill that apply directly to ranch operations, as well as Federally-subsidized crop insurance available from private insurance companies agents.
  • Rangeland Production Risk Management in Montana
    Gary Brester, John P. Hewlett*, and James B. Johnson,  Agricultural Marketing Policy Center, Montana State University Cooperative Extension Service,  September, 2005
        * University of Wyoming Extension Educator

    A new Group Risk Plan (GRP) Rangeland Insurance product is being offered by USDA's Risk Management Agency (RMA) in 39 Montana counties. For counties in which this insurance product is not offered, USDA's Farm Service Agency continues to offer the Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program. . . .
  • Rangeland Production Risk Management in Wyoming
    John P. Hewlett*, Gary Brester, and James B. Johnson,  Agricultural Marketing Policy Center, Montana State University Cooperative Extension Service,  September, 2005
        * University of Wyoming Extension Educator

    A new Group Risk Plan (GRP) Rangeland Insurance product is being offered by USDA's Risk Management Agency (RMA) in 10 Wyoming counties. For counties in which this insurance product is not offered, USDA's Farm Service Agency continues to offer the Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program. . . .
  • Revenue Assurance (RA) Insurance
    Gary Schnitkey, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, April 1999
    RA is revenue insurance protecting against low yields, low prices, or a combination of low yields and low prices.
  • Risk Management for Specialty Crop and Specialty Livestock Operations through Farm Service Agency Programs and Risk Management Agency Products
    James B. Johnson, Vincent H. Smith, and John P. Hewlett*, Agricultural Marketing Policy Center, Montana State University Cooperative Extension Service, August 2016.
        * University of Wyoming Extension Educator

    Two questions are central to understanding producer options for risk management and other government programs related to specialty crops and specialty livestock operations. First: what is a specialty crop? Second: what is a specialty livestock operation? This bulletin focuses on the management of production, price, and revenue risks for specialty crops and specialty livestock and the farms and ranches that have incorporated such enterprises into their overall enterprise mix.
  • Risk Management for Wyoming Crop and Livestock Commodities Produced Under Organic Practices through the Use of Risk Management Agency Products and Farm Service Agency Programs
    James B. Johnson, Vincent H. Smith, and John P. Hewlett*, Agricultural Marketing Policy Center, Montana State University Cooperative Extension Service, July 2016.
        * University of Wyoming Extension Educator

    USDA organic regulations describe organic agriculture as the application of a set of cultural, biological, and mechanical practices that support the recycling of on-farm resources, promote ecological balance and conserve biodiversity. The major focus of this bulletin is on crops and livestock, in the category of organic products for which USDA Risk Management Agency insurance products and USDA Farm Service Agency programs may be available to address production, price and revenue risks and losses from natural catastrophic disasters.
  • Risk Management Options for Wyoming Farms
    James B. Johnson, Vincent H. Smith and John P. Hewlett*, Agricultural Marketing Policy Center, Montana State University Cooperative Extension Service,  May 2009.
        * University of Wyoming Extension Educator

    Ranchers and farmers know they are involved in financially risky enterprises and, as a result, develop strategies and tools to manage that risk. Typically, those strategies involve the use of multiple production, price and business risk management tools. This paper describes federally subsidized production and revenue insurance products available to Wyoming farming operations and presents simulations of the effects of alternative risk management strategies for a representative Wyoming farm. A farm that represents operations in Big Horn and Washakie counties is used to evaluate alternative production and revenue risk management strategies that involve Risk Management Agency (RMA) insurance products.
  • Risk Management Options for Wyoming Ranchers
    James B. Johnson, Vincent H. Smith and John P. Hewlett*, Agricultural Marketing Policy Center, Montana State University Cooperative Extension Service,  January 2009.
        * University of Wyoming Extension Educator

    Ranchers and farmers know they are involved in risky enterprises and use many tools to manage risk. This bulletin describes the crop, forage and livestock insurance products available to Wyoming ranch operations and presents simulations of the effects of alternative risk management strategies for representative large and small Wyoming ranches. These strategies involve different combinations of the following insurance products that are available in Wyoming: AGR-Lite, Actual Production History (APH), Crop Revenue Coverage (CRC), Group Risk Protection (GRP), Livestock Risk Protection (LRP), Livestock Gross Margin (LGM), and Pasture, Rangeland, Forage (PRF).
  • Risk Management Programs for Honey Bee Producers in Wyoming
    James B. Johnson, Vincent H. Smith, and John P. Hewlett*, Agricultural Marketing Policy Center, Montana State University Cooperative Extension Service,  May, 2011
        * University of Wyoming Extension Educator

    Two major United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) programs are designed to provide risk management tools for managers of honey bee colonies and the production of honey. Each of these two programs is described and illustrations are provided of how they may be of assistance to Wyoming honey bee producers.
  • Risk Management Options Using the Common Crop (Combo) Policy in Wyoming: An Irrigated Farm Example
    Vincent H. Smith, James B. Johnson and John P. Hewlett*, Agricultural Marketing Policy Center, Montana State University Cooperative Extension Service,  August 2012.
        * University of Wyoming Extension Educator

    RMA released the Common Crop Insurance Policy Basic Provisions and related Crop Provisions as the insurance policy basis for crop insurance coverage. This bulletin illustrates the use of the COMBO Policy in the context of a representative Wyoming farm that grows crops on irrigated land.
  • Rye: Production, Uses, and Exports
    Kevin McNew and Sam Bixley, Briefing Paper, Agricultural Marketing Policy Center, Montana State University Cooperative Extension Service,  November, 2001
  • Sorghum: Production, Uses, and Exports
    Kevin McNew and Sam Bixley, Briefing Paper, Agricultural Marketing Policy Center, Montana State University Cooperative Extension Service,  November, 2001
  • Supplemental Revenue Assistance Payments Program (SURE): Wyoming
    Vincent H. Smith, James B. Johnson, and John P. Hewlett*, Agricultural Marketing Policy Center, Montana State University Cooperative Extension Service,  February, 2010
        * University of Wyoming Extension Educator

    The new Supplemental Revenue Assistance Payments Program (SURE), created by 2008 Farm Bill, is a permanent disaster aid program for farms producing crops. The program is one of five different permanent disaster programs authorized by the act. The purpose of the SURE program is to provide agricultural producers with automatic disaster payments when the region in which they farm experiences catastrophic natural weather events or when an individual farm experiences severe crop losses due to highly localized adverse weather conditions.
  • Supplementary Insurance Coverage Option: A New Risk Management Tool for Wyoming Producers, The
    Vincent H. Smith, James B. Johnson and John P. Hewlett*, Agricultural Marketing Policy Center, Montana State University Cooperative Extension Service,  April 2015.
        * University of Wyoming Extension Educator

    Through the provisions of the 2014 Agricultural Act that became law on February 17, 2014, Wyoming farmers have new farm income safety net-related policy tools that can be used to improve the financial performance of their operations. However, the new set of policy tools requires farmers to make choices among competing alternatives. In the case of a new crop-specific insurance policy called the Supplementary Insurance Coverage Option (SCO), farmers must decide whether they should sign up for that policy and, at the same time, whether they should adjust the coverage levels they obtain through their current crop insurance policies.
  • Things to Think About When Trying Something New in Your Operation
    Chris Bastian, University of Wyoming Cooperative Extension Service, December 1999
    A plan, which includes new strategies or alternatives, means changing, and along with changes comes added or different responsibilities for a manager.  Implementing a new plan basically involves acquiring the necessary resources such as labor and capital, and . . . 
  • Time to Consider Ranch Recreation Dollars?
    Russell Tronstad, Arizona Cooperative Extension, September 1998
    Many ranchers have recognized that recreation is a growth industry and they been complimenting their existing operation by offering ranch tours, big game hunting, horse back riding, cattle drives, and Bed & Breakfasts (B&B) with various amenities.
  • What is Your Cost of Production
    Gayle Willett, Washington State University Cooperative Extension Service, December 1998

    This chapter provides a guide that will assist a producer in identifying the cost of production of a particular crop, or for all the crops grown on a farm. The differences between economic, financial, and cash costs are developed and interpreted.
  • What is Your Cost of Production - PowerPoint Slides
    Gayle Willett, Washington State University Cooperative Extension Service, December 1998

    This chapter provides a guide that will assist a producer in identifying the cost of production of a particular crop, or for all the crops grown on a farm. The differences between economic, financial, and cash costs are developed and interpreted.
  • What's New at RMA? - North Dakota
    Anne Jenkins, Acting Director of Risk Management Services, USDA-RMA, a presentation at the Tenth Annual Crop Insurance Conference, Fargo, ND - January 20, 2003
  • Whole Farm Revenue Protection: A Crop Insurance Available in All Wyoming Counties
    James B. Johnson, Vincent H. Smith and John P. Hewlett*, Agricultural Marketing Policy Center, Montana State University Cooperative Extension Service,  May 2018
        * University of Wyoming Extension Educator

    Crop insurance coverage is available for 15 individual crops or crop groups in Wyoming. However, for several crops federally-subsidized insurance coverage is only available in a limited number of counties. An insurance product that may be of interest to beginning farmers and ranchers and producers of small acreages of multiple high-value crops is the Whole-Farm Revenue Protection Policy (WFRP). This pilot policy has been available to producers in all Wyoming counties in recent years. This policy paper provides a description of the Whole-Farm Revenue Protection Policy and illustrates the application of WFRP to an example Park County irrigated farm.
  • Wyoming Barley Production: Opportunities to Manage Production, Quality and Revenue Risks
    James B. Johnson, Vincent H. Smith, and John P. Hewlett*, Agricultural Marketing Policy Center, Montana State University Cooperative Extension Service, April 2017.
        * University of Wyoming Extension Educator

    Barley is an important crop in Wyoming that may be raised as animal feed or for malting. Different varieties are typically used for feed barley and malt barley and malting barley yields are generally lower than feed barley yields. Some farmers may choose to raise organic barley to serve the needs of niche markets. Insurance products offered by the USDA Risk Management Agency are available for feed barley, malting barley (through a malting barley endorsement), and organic barley. These products are the focus of this briefing paper.

 

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