Released: June 25, 2008           e-Mail the story

MANHATTAN, Kan. – With sessions related to everything from ethanol to climate change to farm policy and more, the K-State Risk and Profit Conference will touch on numerous topics relevant to farmers and ranchers working in today’s business environment. 

The conference, to be held Aug. 14-15 at the K-State Alumni Center in Manhattan, will begin with senior economist Jason Henderson of the Kansas City Federal Reserve Bank, presenting the Fed’s view of the economy at noon on Thurs., Aug. 14. A second general session on Thursday night will feature K-State agricultural economist Troy Dumler, discussing relevant features of the new farm bill and how it will impact Kansas farmers. The conference will also feature a Livestock and Grain Outlook session with K-State livestock and grain marketing economists James Mintert and Mike Woolverton at the Friday morning breakfast.

“The Risk and Profit Conference is designed to give agricultural producers and affiliated businesses a competitive edge in their operations,” said James Mintert, K-State professor of agricultural economics and state agricultural economics leader for K-State Research and Extension. “Presentations on farm management, technology, marketing, and policy issues in agriculture are scheduled by the Department of Agricultural Economics faculty. With all the volatility we’re experiencing in the ag sector, this year’s conference will be provide good insight into what lies ahead.” 

Participants will be able to choose up to eight from a total of 19 breakout sessions during the conference. The sessions will include such topics as Global Supply and Demand: Can We Feed the World?; A New Risk Era? Are Traditional Risk Management Tools Still Effective?; Livestock: Who Wins, Who Loses and Why?; Managing the Threat of $3 Corn; Credit Scores of Kansas Farmers; Impact of Climate Change on Irrigated Agriculture in NW Kansas; and many more.

The early registration fee is $195 for the first attendee from an organization and $175 for a second or more if paid by Aug. 6. After Aug. 6, the fee is $220 for the first attendee and $200 for the second or more. The fee includes all sessions; meals (two lunches, one dinner and one breakfast); conference proceedings on compact disk and parking.

More information about the conference and K-State’s Extension agricultural economics programs is available on the Web: http://www.agmanager.info or by contacting Rich Llewelyn at 785-532-1504 or rvl@ksu.edu.

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K-State Research and Extension is a short name for the Kansas State University Agricultural Experiment Station and Cooperative Extension Service, a program designed to generate and distribute useful knowledge for the well-being of Kansans. Supported by county, state, federal and private funds, the program has county Extension offices, experiment fields, area Extension offices and regional research centers statewide. Its headquarters is on the K-State campus, Manhattan.

Story by: Mary Lou Peter-Blecha
mlpeter@ksu.edu
K-State Research & Extension News

Rich Llewelyn is at 785-532-1504.