All webinars are scheduled to begin at:
12:00 Eastern/11:00 Central/10:00 Mountain/9:00 Pacific

The Tax Relief Act of 2010 has a number of changes to the tax code important to agricultural producers. In this Ag in Uncertain Times webinar, we will be discussing the key changes in the new Tax Law and how they affect agricultural producers. Many of the changes will have a direct impact on depreciation and expensing options available to businesses. The discussion will be useful for all sizes and types of farms and ranches.

Monday, February 7, 2011
We will hear from two, very knowledgeable presenters:
   Gary J. Hoff, Extension Specialist – Taxation, at the University of Illinois, will be providing an overview of the various changes relevant to agricultural producers.

   Dr. Ruby Ward from the Department of Applied Economics at Utah State University will take a closer look at the special depreciation rule which allows 100% of the cost of new assets to be expensed in the year purchased and how the election of this option could affect the operations depreciation and cash flow.

• Login Information, Ag and The Tax Relief Act of 2010, Web Seminar:
• To join the seminar, click on the following link or copy and paste this web address into your browser:
http://www.msuextensionconnect.org/aginuncertaintimes/

Or email westrme@wsu.edu and ask to be added to our Webinar only email list.

Upcoming Spanish Language Webinars:
Look for information soon about Spanish language Volatility and Fresh Markets web seminars, coming on February 28 and March 7.

Volatility and Fresh Fruits & Vegetables

Where are we, where do we want to go, how do we get there?

The links below are to the recorded session of the Ag In Uncertain Times December 16^th, 2010 webinar. Clicking on the icon for either the video or audio-only version will stream the recording to your location. Download and start times will vary depending on your connection speed. Please be patient, as there may be a delay before the video start button appears on the screen.

Sections for this webinar include:

* Introduction and Background information– Emcee Ramiro Lobo
* Speakers:
   Roberta Cook on Volatility and Fresh Fruits and Vegetables
   Kynda Curtis on Managing Risk in Fruit & Vegetable Production
* Q & A session and Closing Comments

Webinar Opening Comments- Emcee Ramiro Lobo
Roberta Cook on Volatility and Fresh Fruits and Vegetables
Kynda Curtis on Managing Risk in Fruit & Vegetable Production
Q & A following speaker presentations
Compilation of the ENTIRE webinar audio

Below are links to the PowerPoint slides presented by today’s speakers addressing the topic: Volatility and Fresh Fruits & Vegetables

Presenters include:
  * Roberta Cook, Marketing Economist, University of California, Davis – Volatility and Fresh Fruits and Vegetables

  * Kynda Curtis, Associate Professor and Extension Specialist, Utah State University – Managing Risk in Fruit & Vegetable Production
 
 
Click on the links above to access the various PowerPoint presentations.

Recordings of the webinar presentations will be posted once they have been compiled under a separate listing.

Volatility and Grains

Where are we, where do we want to go, how do we get there?

The links below are to the recorded session of the Ag In Uncertain Times December 15^th, 2010 webinar. Clicking on the icon for either the video or audio-only version will stream the recording to your location. Download and start times will vary depending on your connection speed. Please be patient, as there may be a delay before the video start button appears on the screen.

Sections for this webinar include:

* Introduction and Background information– Emcee Jon Newkirk
* Speakers:
   Ed Allen on Fundamentals Moving the Wheat Market: Supply and Demand, Corn and Soybeans
   Duane Griffith on Managing Volatility in The Grain Markets
* Q & A session and Closing Comments

Webinar Opening Comments- Emcee Jon Newkirk
Ed Allen on Fundamentals Moving the Wheat Market: Supply and Demand, Corn and Soybeans
Duane Griffith on Managing Volatility in The Grain Markets
Q & A following speaker presentations
Compilation of the ENTIRE webinar audio

Below are links to the PowerPoint slides presented by today’s speakers addressing the topic: Volatility and Grains

Presenters include:
  * Ed Allen, International Grains Team, USDA-ERS – Fundamentals Moving the Wheat Market: Supply and Demand, Corn and Soybeans

  * Duane Griffith, Extension Farm Management Specialist, Montana State University – Managing Volatility in The Grain Markets
  – Futures, Options, Combo Analysis tool
 
 
Click on the links above to access the various PowerPoint presentations.

Recordings of the webinar presentations will be posted once they have been compiled under a separate listing.

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 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.

Volatility and the Livestock Industry

Where are we, where do we want to go, how do we get there?

The links below are to the recorded session of the Ag In Uncertain Times December 9^th, 2010 webinar. Clicking on the icon for either the video or audio-only version will stream the recording to your location. Download and start times will vary depending on your connection speed. Please be patient, as there may be a delay before the video start button appears on the screen.

Sections for this webinar include:

* Introduction and Background information– Emcee Jon Newkirk
* Speakers:
   Gary Brester on Cattle Market Situation
   John Hewlett on Managing Volatility in Livestock Commodities
* Q & A session and Closing Comments

Webinar Opening Comments- Emcee Jon Newkirk
Gary Brester on Cattle Market Situation
John Hewlett on Managing Volatility in Livestock Commodities
Q & A following speaker presentations
Compilation of the ENTIRE webinar audio

Volatility in American Agriculture

Where are we, where do we want to go, how do we get there?

The links below are to the recorded session of the Ag In Uncertain Times December 8^th, 2010 webinar. Clicking on the icon for either the video or audio-only version will stream the recording to your location. Download and start times will vary depending on your connection speed. Please be patient, as there may be a delay before the video start button appears on the screen.

Sections for this webinar include:

* Introduction and Background information– Emcee Jon Newkirk
* Speakers:
   Daniel Sumner on Economics of Volatility in Agricultural Markets
   Danny Klinefelter on Managing Volatility in Agriculture
* Q & A session and Closing Comments

Webinar Opening Comments- Emcee Jon Newkirk
Daniel Sumner on Economics of Volatility in Agricultural Markets
Danny Klinefelter on Managing Volatility in Agriculture
Q & A following speaker presentations
Compilation of the ENTIRE webinar audio

Below are links to the PowerPoint slides presented by today’s speakers addressing the topic: Volatility and the Livestock Industry

Presenters include:
  * Gary Brester, Professor, Montana State University – Cattle Market Situation

  * John Hewlett, Ranch/Farm Management Specialist, University of Wyoming – Managing Volatility in Livestock Commodities
 
  Tools mentioned in John’s webinar presentation:
    – Farm Management Wiki: RDFinancial
    – Farm Management Wiki: Futures, Options, LRP Comparison
    – Farm Management Wiki: Cull Cow Marketing and Feeding Alternatives
    – Farm Management Wiki: LRP Lamb
    – Farm Management Wiki: Risk Navigator
    – RightRisk
    – USDA Risk Management Agency (RMA)
 
 
Click on the links above to access the various PowerPoint presentations.

Recordings of the webinar presentations will be posted once they have been compiled under a separate listing.

Below are links to the PowerPoint slides presented by today’s speakers addressing the topic: Volatility in American Agriculture

Presenters include:
  * Daniel Sumner, Director, University of California, Agricultural Issues Center, and Professor, University of California, Davis – Economics of Volatility in Agricultural Markets
  – Daniel Sumner’s volatility spreadsheets

  * Danny Klinefelter, Professor, Texas A&M University and Extension Economist, Texas AgriLife Extension – Managing Volatility in Agriculture
 
 
Click on the links above to access the various PowerPoint presentations.

Recordings of the webinar presentations will be posted once they have been compiled under a separate listing.