K-State, University of Nebraska teaming up
MANHATTAN, Kan. – The new 2018 Farm Bill is coming together and experts are beginning to see the form it will take. Starting in February and extending into early March, economists from the Kansas State University Department of Agricultural Economics are partnering with the University of Nebraska extension to bring the latest information on the new farm bill to a conference near you.
Topics include the economic conditions of farmers and Title I programs with K-State Research and Extension’s Mykel Taylor; proposed crop insurance changes with K-State’s Art Barnaby, and potential impacts to conservation programs with Nebraska’s Brad Lubben. The series will allow Kansas and Nebraska producers to engage presenters with their own thoughts on possible changes, and use the dialogue to further understand issues facing the agricultural community within the new farm bill’s framework.
“We want to give our clearest vision of what the new farm bill is shaping to be, and give producers information to help with their operational planning,” Taylor said.
Over the years, the farm bill has expanded to include many agricultural and food sectors, plus bioenergy and natural resource management. It encompasses everything from federal funding for agriculture research to nutrition assistance (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program or SNAP). It is a piece of legislation that touches most every person in the United States in some shape or form. It is reauthorized approximately every five years, and is viewed as a vital support mechanism by many in the industry.
Barnaby was raised on a diversified farm in Elk County, Kansas. He earned a bachelor’s degree at Fort Hays State University, a master’s at New Mexico State University and a Ph.D. at Texas A&M University. He came to K-State in 1979 where he is a professor. He conducts national programs on market risk, government commodity programs, crop insurance and public policy. In 2016, Barnaby was named one of Farm Credit’s Fresh Perspectives Top 100 Honoree.
Taylor is an associate professor at K-State. Her research and extension programs are focused on farm management. She attended Montana State University majoring in agribusiness management. Her Ph.D. in economics is from North Carolina State University. She has worked in extension positions at both Kansas State University and Washington State University. Some of her current research areas include measuring basis risk for commodity grains, and analyzing trends in Kansas agricultural land values, rental rates, evaluation of commodity programs in the 2014 Farm Bill, and leasing arrangements.
Lubben has more than 20 years’ experience as an extension agricultural economist, serving in Illinois and Kansas before returning in 2005 to Nebraska, where he grew up on a grain and livestock farm near Burr, Nebraska. He earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in agricultural economics from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and a Ph.D. from Kansas State University.
The fee to attend a conference is $20 if preregistered five days or more prior to the event, or $30 at the door, and includes lunch. Register online at http://www.agmanager.info/events/2018-farm-bill-meetings or contact a local representative:
Dodge City, Kansas: Feb. 28
Knights of Columbus Hall, 800 W. Frontview
Andrea Burns: aburns@ksu.edu or 620-227-4542
Manhattan, Kansas: March 1
Pottorf Hall, Cico Park, 1710 Avery Ave.
Rich Llewelyn: rvl@ksu.edu or 785-532-1504
Scottsbluff, Nebraska: March 6
Panhandle Research and Extension Center
Brad Lubben: blubben2@unl.edu or 402-472-2235
Hastings, Nebraska: March 7
Adams County Fairgrounds, 946 S Baltimore
Brad Lubben: blubben2@unl.edu or 402-472-2235
Mead, Nebraska: March 8
Eastern Nebraska Research and Extension Center
Brad Lubben: blubben2@unl.edu or 402-472-2235
Editor’s Note: This article by Thomas Reust is provided by K-State Research & Extension.