Four Fryar Center Workshops To Focus On Risk Management For Farmers

MARY HIGHTOWER

LITTLE ROCK, ARKANSAS

Economists from the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture will be bolstering their outreach to farmers with four risk-management workshops scheduled in January and February.

Typically during production meetings, farmers hear the 10,000-foot economic overview. However 2024 will be different. The four Fryar Center Agricultural Risk Management, or FARM, workshops are longer format, allowing for more in-depth looks at situations and tactics.

Registration is open online. Cost for each event is $20. Registration The agendas will cover both livestock and row crop production depending on location.

“The farm workshops really give us an opportunity to get more in depth in really important topics,” said John Anderson, head of the agricultural economics and agribusiness department for the Division of Agriculture and the Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences. “In our one-off smaller production meetings, we can get into the current situation and outlook and give a sense of where the markets are, but it’s harder to get in-depth with topics such as risk management strategies, assessment of financial statements and evaluating crop insurance products.

“The workshop format just allows us to put a lot more meat in the program than we otherwise could,” he said.

The four workshops will be:

• Jan. 10 — 10 a.m. – 4:15 p.m. — JONESBORO — Food Bank of Northeast Arkansas, 3414 One Place. Download agenda.
• Jan. 11 —10 a.m. – 3:15 p.m. — STUTTGART — Rice Research and Extension Center, 2100 Arkansas Highway 130. Download agenda.
• Feb. 1 — 8:30 a.m. – 1:15 p.m. — NEWPORT — Corn and Grain Sorghum Producers Building at the Jackson County Extension Center, 649 Jackson Road 917. Download agenda.
• Feb. 2 — 8:30 a.m. – 2:30 p.m. — SEARCY — White County Extension Office, 24 — Landing Road. Download agenda.

The Fryar Price Risk Management Center of Excellence in the Department of Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness at the University of Arkansas was established in 2020 with a gift from Ed and Michelle Fryar. The center’s work focuses on critical risk management issues facing the food and fiber system, with particular emphasis on products and industries contributing significantly to the Arkansas economy. ∆

MARY HIGHTOWER: University of Arkansas