SPOKANE – “Ag in Uncertain Times,” an interactive online webinar series for agricultural producers and other professionals, concludes with three live sessions in November and two wrap-up sessions in December. The free 90-minute sessions can be accessed by anyone with a computer, speakers and a broadband Internet connection. The entire series is archived and available online.
The Western Extension Committee, an organization of extension economists from the 13 western states, Guam and other Pacific Islands, presents the series.
The November sessions follow the theme “Operating in Risky Environments.”
• Nov. 4: “Where are we?” will feature Gary Brester from Montana State University. He will discuss factors creating risk for agricultural producers. It will also feature John Hewlett, University of Wyoming, discussing strategic planning to manage risk.
• Nov. 11: “Where do we want to go?” will present “Risk Navigator,” a set of tools for implementing the strategic risk management process presented Nov. 4.
• Nov. 18: “How do we get there?” will feature a panel presentation discussing risk management resources for each agriculture region of the country.
The theme for the December wrap up sessions is “Pulling it All Together: Managing Ag Enterprises in Uncertain Times.”
The Dec. 2 session will feature a presentation pulling together the messages from the entire webinar series. The Dec. 9 session will focus on the Internet and other tools to help agricultural professionals assist farm and ranch families manage the challenges of the agricultural economic environment.
All webinar sessions will begin at 9 a.m. Each session will be 90 minutes with plenty of time for participants to interact with the presenters. Montana State University is hosting the sessions and all of the webinars can be accessed by going to http://www.msuextensionconnect.org/aginuncertaintimes/.
No advance reservation is required, but each session is limited to 500 participants on a first-come basis. Participants should log on several minutes early to assure connection, see information on how to ask questions and to make sure the audio is functioning.
The 12 previous sessions are archived and available at http://www.farmmanagement.org/aginuncertaintimes/ as is more information about the remaining sessions. The entire series will be posted to the site and remain available.
WSU Extension Risk Management Educator John Nelson encourages individuals and groups to take advantage of the archived sessions.
“They are there to be used,” Nelson said. “I encourage both individuals and organizations to download them, and play them at local meetings of commodity and other agricultural groups. Plus, there are numerous invaluable tools available in the accompanying Wiki.”
Organizations contributing to making the webinar series and supporting web pages available include: The University of Arizona, The University of California Davis, Colorado State University, Montana State University, The Western Center for Risk Management Education and Washington State University, The University of Wyoming and the Center for Farm Financial Management.
