‘Farm Fair’ Slated April 7 in Holton, Kan., as Part of KAMS’ 20th Anniversary Series 3/19/08

‘Farm Fair’ Slated April 7 in Holton, Kan., as Part of KAMS’ 20th Anniversary Series

MANHATTAN, Kan. – In celebration of its 20 years of working with rural Kansans, the Kansas Agricultural Mediation Services (KAMS) is hosting a series of Farm Fairs, featuring resources useful to producers and their families.

The first Farm Fair is set for April 7 from 7 to 9 p.m. in Holton, Kan., at the 4-H Building on the Jackson County Fairgrounds. The event is free and open to the public.

Kansas Ag Mediation Services Has Been Helping Farmers for 20 Years

MANHATTAN, Kan. – The Kansas Agricultural Mediation Services – KAMS -- has been in the “help” business for 20 years.

Based at Kansas State University as part of K-State Research and Extension, KAMS works with farm and ranch families in a confidential manner to find information, connect to services or help resolve disputes that arise with USDA agencies, banks, suppliers and others.

“Our services are either free of charge or low-cost,” said KAMS Mediation Coordinator Char Henton. “KAMS can also refer rural Kansans to a financial analyst who can help them determine their best course of action or to an attorney who specializes in agricultural issues.”

KAMS’s focus is to help farm families discover options and alternatives and make informed choices, Henton said.

The program was initially funded by a U.S. Department of Agriculture start-up grant awarded to 12 states in 1988.

More information about KAMS is available by phone at 1-800-321-3276 or on the Web at http://www.oznet.ksu.edu/kams/.

In keeping with KAMS’ 20th anniversary, more than 20 federal, state and local organizations and agencies will have displays and representatives available to provide information and help answer questions.

As part of the fair, economist Rodney Jones, a farm management specialist with Kansas State University, will also give a 7:30 p.m. presentation on “Tools for Family Farm Transition.”

Some of the agencies and organizations participating in the Farm Fair include: Kansas Weather Data Library and the Kansas Extension Disaster Education Network (KansasEDEN), Kansas Highway Patrol (transportation regulations), Department of Commerce (agri-tourism), Kansas PRIDE communities, Kansas Legal Service (legal assistance), Kansas Farm Bureau, K-State Farm Analyst Program (financial considerations), Kansas watershed specialists, Northeast Kansas Community Action Program (NEK-CAP), AgrAbility (farming with disabilities), Kansas Farmers Union, Kansas Social and Rehabilitation Services, Northeast Kansas Area Agency on Aging; and the Holton Community Hospital (health checks).

“This is an opportunity for producers and their families to discover the resources available to them,” said Char Henton, KAMS mediation coordinator.

Co-sponsoring the Farm Fair in Holton are the K-State Research and Extension offices in Atchison, Brown and Doniphan counties and in the Meadowlark Extension District (Jackson, Jefferson and Nemaha counties).

KAMS, administered by K-State Research and Extension, offers information, referral and dispute resolution services to Kansas farmers, ranchers, agricultural lenders, and U.S. Department of Agriculture agencies. More information about KAMS is available on the Web at http://www.oznet.ksu.edu/kams/.

Information about KAMS and/or the other Farm Fairs upcoming around the state is available by calling 1-800-321-FARM or 785-532-6958.

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.