Released: July 13, 2007

K-State’s Risk and Profit Conference Slated for Mid-August

MANHATTAN, Kan. – Two nationally-prominent speakers will highlight the 2007 K-State Risk and Profit Conference Aug. 16-17 at the K-State Alumni Center in Manhattan.

Keynote speakers will be Elwynn Taylor, a professor of agronomy and extension climatologist at Iowa State University, and Sarah Fogleman, an Extension agricultural economist at K-State and an expert in farm and ranch human resource management.

The theme for this year’s conference, which is sponsored by K-State’s Department of Agricultural Economics, is “Wild Weather, Policy Politics, and Energy Equilibriums.”

Elwynn Taylor is nationally recognized for his expertise in agricultural climatology and his ability to communicate to farm and agribusiness audiences, said James Mintert, state Extension leader in agricultural economics and conference coordinator. Taylor will kick off the event on Thursday with a presentation entitled “Long-Run Weather Trends and Crop Yields”.

Sarah Fogleman is recognized as an expert in farm and ranch human resource management and a captivating speaker, Mintert said. Her presentation on “Cultivating a Culture of Success” is slated for Thursday evening, following dinner.

Other presentations will focus on topics pertinent to today’s farming and ranching operations, Mintert said, including an update on biofuels by K-State Research and Extension grain marketing specialist Mike Woolverton and a presentation on disaster aid and crop insurance by K-State farm management specialist Art Barnaby.

The conference will feature presentations on other topics of interest to the agricultural community by K-State Agricultural Economics faculty members. Attendees can choose to attend up to eight different sessions from among such topics as:

• Disaster aid, crop insurance and whole-farm revenue insurance update;

• Update on the 2007 Farm Bill;

• Effect of government subsidies on rural development;

• Biofuels update;

• Interrelationship of ethanol, DDGs and cattle;

• Ethanol production in Brazil;

• Higher Land Values;

• Higher Land Rents?;

• Autoguidance equipment: Does it pay?;

• Grain handling and transportation in western Kansas;

• No-till efficiency;

• Cattle feeding return risk;

• How U.S. agricultural products appeal to Japanese consumers;

• How to be more Web savvy; and

• Results from a water quality trading experiment conducted in 2006.

Registration begins Aug. 16 at 10 a.m., with lunch served at 11:30 a.m.

On Aug. 17, the conference begins with breakfast from 6:45-7:30 a.m. followed by in-depth livestock and grain outlook presentations provided by Mintert, who is a K-State livestock marketing economist, and Woolverton, respectively. The conference ends late Friday afternoon.

Registration fees are $180 for the initial participant in a group and $160 for each additional person, if postmarked by Aug. 8. Fees for late registrants are $200 for the first person and $175 for each additional participant. The fees include four meals (two lunches, one dinner, and one breakfast), a compact disc containing the conference proceedings and a parking pass.

More information, including downloadable registration forms, are available on the Web at http://www.agmanager.info/events/ and click on “Risk and Profit Conference” or by calling
785-532-1504.

-30-

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:
Leah Bond
lbond@ksu.edu
K-State Research& Extension News