Released: February 10, 2004

Ag Trade Policy, Grazing Management To Be Addressed at Feb 20-21 Conference

MANHATTAN, Kan. – In 2003, trade policies helped to move the United States from a major net exporter of food to a nearly food deficit nation, according to Mark Ritchie, President of the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy. A food deficit is created when the country imports more agricultural products than it exports.

Ritchie also says that the siphoning of profits away from family farmers is taking a heavy toll on rural America, turning many Great Plains communities into virtual ghost towns. Ritchie will speak about renewing those small towns and the countryside through the eyes of farmers, businesses and programs, as well as about the roles of public policy and land grant universities at the upcoming Kansas Sustainable Agriculture Roundup. The Roundup will take place Feb. 20-21 in Manhattan and is open to Extension employees, farmers, ranchers, consumers and food advocates.

In addition to Ritchie’s presentation, Barry Dunn, Executive Director of the King Ranch Institute for Ranch Management at Texas A&M University-Kingsville will discuss factors that affect profitability of cattle operations. Dunn will discuss strategies for dry years, as well as steps producers can take to reduce their financial risk.

“We have seen beef producers reducing herd size as a method of coping with the drought,” said Jana Beckman, coordinator of the Kansas Center for Sustainable Agriculture and Alternative Crops. “Many have sold off everything but their key breeding stock.”

According to Dunn, not having a variety of animal types and ages such as yearlings and stockers has reduced flexibility of many producers. “It’s hard for a producer to sell off that cow, especially if they bred her grandmother,” Dunn says. “Producers are less attached to yearlings, so in many cases, the non-breeding stock was the first to be sold when the drought conditions worsened.”

Having a variety of livestock over a long time period, Dunn says, allows a ranch to respond to the cyclical droughts that are a part of the Great Plains. Livestock variety also allows producers to make effective use of their forages and capitalize on marketing options.

Other Roundup events will include concurrent workshops on a variety of topics such as woodland management, water quality protection and soil quality.

For more information about the 2004 Roundup or to register, contact The Kansas Rural Center at (785) 873-3431 or email ddysart@rainbowtel.net . Information can also be found on the KCSAAC Web site at www.kansassustainableag.org on the Calendar of Events page.

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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:
Lisa Solomon, Communications Assistant
lms4577@ksu.edu
K-State Research& Extension News