Eye on agriculture

Western Nevada College's Specialty Crop Institute will host the Nevada Small Farm Conference March 12-13 at the Fallon campus and Fallon Convention Center.

Cost is $75 for both days. There is a $20 late fee for registrations after March 2. Lunch is included.

The goal of the two-day conference is to encourage the success and viability of small farm operations through educational workshops, round table discussions, and networking opportunities.

Conference tracks include sessions on business planning, direct-marketing beef, hoop house production, egg and poultry production, sales and marketing, and more.

The event's featured speaker is author Vance Corum, who brings more than 30 years experience as a marketing consultant, researcher, and lecturer. Additionally, Lattin Farms in Fallon will host a Friday-night wine mixer as part of the event. It will showcase Nevada wines, beef, and produce, along with light entertainment. Cost is $25.

To register or for more information, contact Ann Louhela at (775) 351-2551 or visit www.wnc.edu/sci.

Nevada agricultural producers can learn how to increase revenue, lower costs and deal with credit shortages in a free, four-part course being offered around the state by University of Nevada Cooperative Extension and the College of Agriculture, Biotechnology and Natural Resources.

The program, "Successful Agribusiness Management Strategies," will be divided into half-day workshops and presented at eight locations simultaneously through extension's interactive video network. Funding for the program was provided by the U.S. Department of Agriculture Risk Management Agency.

The workshops will examine alternative enterprise feasibility and risk analysis, credit issues and bankruptcy, retirement strategies, along with estate and farm transition planning, crop diversification and growing techniques for arid Nevada.

Kynda Curtis, an assistant professor in the University's Department of Resource Economics, will lead the training. She said the program will include valuable information to help all Nevada agricultural producers become more stable and profitable.

The program, held in the Douglas County UNCE officer at 1329 Waterloo Lane in Gardnerville, will be divided into four days: March 19, 8:30 a.m. to noon; March 26, 8:30 a.m. to noon; April 2, 8:30 a.m. to noon; and April 9, 8:30 a.m. to noon.

For more information or to register, contact Curtis at (775) 784-1682 or at kcurtis@cabnr.unr.edu.

A new online course, "Investing in Farm Families," has been established to help Nevada's farmers plan for the future.

"You can learn to secure your farm's future and protect your family's legacy by enrolling now in an online course just for farm families," said University of Nevada Cooperative Extension Dean and Director Karen Hinton. "Investing for farm families provides the information you need to make strategic decisions while weaving together farm and personal investments."

The eight-lesson course, offered through eXtension.org, helps farm families plan for a financially stable future that meets their long-term needs. Developed by a team of extension educators from several states, farm families can work at their own pace while taking the course.

"You can learn to increase your future financial security, identify investment strategies, know asset allocation basics, evaluate investment production alternatives to agriculture business risks, and invest for retirement and farm succession planning," Hinton said.

Hinton noted that farm families have unique investing needs, which the course addresses. Surveys and focus groups with farmers provided the course developers with insights about farmers' investment concerns and learning preferences.

Tim Eggers, extension field agricultural economist with Iowa State University, said the primary benefit of the course is the thoughtful analysis of how on-and-off farm investments can be balanced "based on the participant's unique situation."

"Farm and ranch families tend to be more comfortable with the investments they can see and use," Eggers said. "Investing for farm families can help farmers to diversify their investments."

For more information or to enroll, visit www.extension.org/pages/InvestingforFarmFamilies.