Join us beginning December 8 for an engaging web seminar series on Managing Volatility in Agriculture. Each web seminar begins at 9:00 am Pacific, 10:00 am Mountain, 11:00 am Central and 12:00 pm Eastern.
The Ag in Uncertain Times web seminar series is fortunate to have presenters with a sound grasp of the issues surrounding volatility in markets and the tools that are available to help farms and ranches deal with the risks that follow. Agriculture has always faced ups and downs in prices. The rate of change of the factors impacting the agricultural economy seems to be accelerating. Volatility is a common discussion issue where ever farmers and ranchers or their lenders and accountants gather. If the future mimics the recent past, the importance of managing volatility will continue to grow for American agricultural producers.

December 8: Volatility in American Agriculture
Daniel Sumner, Ph.D., Director, University of California, Agricultural Issues Center, and Professor, University of California, Davis will set the context for the Managing Volatility in Agriculture seminar series on December 8 with an overview of the factors continuing to support volatility in ag and input markets. Danny Klinefelter, Ph.D., Professor, Texas A&M University and Extension Economist, Texas AgriLife Extension, will follow with a presentation on the management principles that all producers can apply to their farm and ranch businesses to help manage the variety of risks associated with farm product and input price volatility.

December 9: Volatility and the Livestock Industry
Gary Brester, Ph.D., Professor, Montana State University and John Hewlett, Farm/ Ranch Management Specialist, University of Wyoming will address both sources and causes of volatility in livestock markets over the past 12 months as well as, anticipated changes through the coming year on an international, national, and regional level. An outline of the position that livestock sector participants should take to best weather the coming swings in U.S. livestock markets will conclude the session.

December 15: Volatility and Grains
Ed Allen, International Grains Team, USDA-ERS and Duane Griffith, Extension Farm Management Specialist, Montana State University will address current conditions and future volatility in the grain markets and explain how this type of volatility provides new marketing opportunities for producers. A review of tools available to take advantage of relatively high markets, when they appear, will also be covered.

December 16: Volatility and Fresh Fruits & Vegetables
Roberta Cook, Ph.D., Marketing Economist, University of California, Davis, will lead this session by highlighting and discussing major risk factors, issues and trends causing volatility in the fruit and vegetable industry while presenting strategies for the industry to be successful in the 21st century. Kynda Curtis, Ph.D., Associate Professor and Extension Specialist, Utah State University will provide an overview and discuss several management tools available to minimize the risk and volatility to a fruit and vegetable producing operation.

Links will be provided by the panel for additional information and resources available to participants.

Who Should Attend?
Agricultural lenders, producers, producer organizations, not-for-profit organizations, extension specialists and educators, agency personnel, crop insurance industry personnel, policy makers, and Ag College Leaders.

To Participate:
• No pre-registration is required, however each seminar is limited to 500 users. Sign- on is first come.
• Equipment needed:
– A computer with speakers/headphoneso A high speed internet connection (LAN, DSL/cable modem, high-speed wireless)
• To join a seminar, visit:
• www.msuextensionconnect.org/aginuncertaintimes.
• This web link opens a screen that has the Enter as a Guest option selected. Use this option and enter your name and then click on the Enter Room button.
• The start time for all seminars in this series is 9:00 am Pacific. Please log on a few minutes early to view information about how to ask presenters questions and to make sure your audio is working.
• Prior to the meeting date and time, test your computer’s ability to communicate with the system we will use. Visit
• AgInUncertainTimes.FarmManagement.org and click on the Test Your Internet Connectivity link on the right hand edge of this page. Follow the instructions provided.

For other inquiries, please contact the WSU Western Center for Risk Management Education 509-477-2196, westrme.wsu.edu.