2016 Western Ag Industry Survey Report Available

2016 Western Ag Industry Survey

In early 2016, the idea for the Agricultural Industry Survey originated from a similar effort administered by a group of Colorado Extension Specialists. Members of the Western Extension Committees (WEC) on Farm Management and Marketing, made up of Extension economists from 13 Western States, Guam, and the U.S. Pacific Islands then initiated a survey specific to agriculture in the west.

The survey invitation was emailed to the WEC membership who distributed it through Extension contact channels.

The survey report
is now available…

Farm and Ranch Management School Starts Jan 14th

Click on image to enlarge.

Please register by January 8th, 2016. Call or email the Bear Lake County

Extension Office (208) 847-0344, beborn@uidaho.edu

Developing Your Food Product Idea, June 13th

The June 13 session of Developing Your Food Product Idea is rapidly approaching.

We still have seats available for those hoping to get started with us this season.

You can find course applications on-line at the UI Food Technology Center website.

If you can’t join us in June we will be offering the class again in November.

http://web.cals.uidaho.edu/ftc/

USDA Reminds Farmers of Whole Farm and Multiple Peril Crop Insurance Program Dates Approaching in Early 2014

SPOKANE, Wash., Dec. 09, 2013 — USDA’s Risk Management Agency reminds producers of the fast approaching winter and spring sales closing dates for multiple peril crop insurance programs, whole farm insurance programs, the Adjusted Gross Revenue Pilot, and Adjusted Gross Revenue-Lite. AGR and AGR-Lite cover most farm-raised crops, animals, and animal products.   

Webinars on Farm Tax Issues

Click on image to enlarge.

Wallace Center’s National Good Food Network Free Webinars

The Wallace Center is offerin the following free webinars that could be potentially helpful to ranch operators in central Idaho

May 31, 2012 at 9 AM Eastern:
The One Page Business Plan and One Page Financial Plan

June 21, 2012 at 3:30pm Eastern:
Grass-Based Beef: The Business Case

June 21, 2012 at 3:30pm Eastern:
Grass-Based Beef: The Business Case

The Wallace Center supports entrepreneurs and communities as they build a new, 21st century food system that is healthier for people, the environment, and the economy.
Our role is four-fold:

• We build links in the growing and diverse network of food and farm innovators with events and communications that bring participants together.
• We strengthen this network by gathering information from it and sharing participants’ learning through the network and with policy makers.
• We prime the pump of change by monitoring the emergence of useful models and helping others adopt or adapt them.
• We work to bring financial resources and other capacity-building support to good-food innovator

• Please note – all of these webinars are completely free of charge. Times are listed in Eastern – please adjust as necessary for your time zone.

If you would like to hear about these opportunities as they come up (we run a webinar every month) , sign up for our newsletters here. The webinars are announced on the National Good Food Network mailing list. 

Guidebook for niche meat processors released

By Lisa M. Keefe on 5/9/2011

The Niche Meat Processor Assistance Network (NMPAN) has published a business planning guidebook for small beef, pork and poultry processors titled, appropriately, “The Meat Processors Business Planning Guidebook.”

It is available on the organization’s website: http://www.extension.org/pages/17166/meat-processor-business-development

“Every business needs a plan, whether you're just getting started or changing course after many years,” the organization said in a release. “This short guide walks you through a basic business plan, from a processor looking to upgrade and expand his facility.” It contains detailed financial projections and suggestions for planning other plant configurations (including a mobile slaughter unit), the release said.

A companion spreadsheet offers a modifiable pro forma, based on the model plan in the guide.
_________________
There are are also meat packing feasiblity studies at this site, that have been done a various levels.

The materials are available from eXtension.  

USDA Readies Plan in Event of Government Shutdown

7. USDA unveils details of shutdown plan

By Jerry Hagstrom

The Hagstrom Report

GovExec.com

April 7, 2011 

If the government shuts down at midnight Friday, meat, poultry, egg, grain and other commodity inspections would continue, but most other agriculture-related USDA activities would be shut down, an Agriculture Department official has told The Hagstrom Report.

Roving slaughter trailers blaze new path for meat processing

By Candace Krebs

Ag Journal
October 19, 2010

FT. COLLINS, Colo - Livestock are routinely trucked to slaughter plants. Now agricultural leaders are looking into whether another option would be for mobile slaughter trailers to travel to them.

The idea has people talking around the country.

"At the National State Departments of Agriculture Convention recently, this topic came up more than once," said John Stulp, Colorado Commissioner of Agriculture. "I really think it's a niche that can grow."

Tester Seeks to Amend Food Safety Bill

By Molly Priddy
Flathead Beacon
October 4, 2010

Montana's U.S. Sen. Jon Tester introduced an amendment to exempt certain small farm operations from regulations in the upcoming Food Safety Bill.

"Herd Quitter" Meetings in Idaho and Southern Montana



Jim Gerrish



In October, my friend and colleague, Jim Gerrish, is co-sponsoring and co-presenting several "Herd Quitter" meetings in Idaho and southern Montana, in cooperation with Kit Pharo of the Pharo Cattle Company.   They will be focusing on the same things that we discuss in the Lost Rivers Grazing Academy, but the programs will be only one day long. 

Kit Pharo

The overall theme is (still) putting profit back into ranching by focusing on the things we talk about at LRGA: solar energy, water cycle, nutrient cycle, diversity, adapted genetics, extending the grazing season, etc.  Kit has been working on these same things, with an emphasis on greater efficiency through small cows and developing cattle that do well grazing.

Meetings are free and open to the public, but with lunch on your own. American GrazingLands Services, Jim's consulting service,  is covering meeting room & refreshment expenses.

Here is a schedule for a series of meetings through out our area.

Oct 6 May, ID

Herd Quitter Meeting with Kit Pharo & Jim Gerrish

Time: 9:30AM to 4 PM

Location: Cowboy Up Cafe, May, ID

Oct 7 Pocatello, ID

Herd Quitter Meeting with Kit Pharo & Jim Gerrish

Time: 9:30AM to 4 PM

Location: Ameritel Inn, 1440 Bench Rd, Pocatello, ID (I-15 Exit 71 )

Oct 8 Dillon, MT

Herd Quitter Meeting with Kit Pharo & Jim Gerrish

Time: 9:30AM to 4 PM

Location: U of Montana-Western, Mathews Hall, Lewis & Clark Room

For more information contact: Dawn Gerrish 208-876-4067, 208-940-1702(cell)  or Dawn@americangrazinglands.com.

There is still a little time to get into the fall session of the Lost Rivers Grazing Academy, September 14-17th on the Eagle Valley Ranch in Salmon, Idaho.  Click here to see the BROCHURE.  You can also follow the Academy on Facebook at http:\\facebook.com/lostriversgrazingacademy.  The LRGA is a 4-day, boots on the ground workshop that covers the basics of management-intensive grazing, taught by the Univeristy of Idaho.  In addition to presentations on the principles of MiG, participants get to manage small herds of cattle and recieve and are graded on meeting their "grazing assignment".  The food is great, and participants generally gain at an "industry-acceptable" rate!

Call me at 208-527-8585 or mailto:208-527-8585ccheyney@uidaho.edu or Scott Jensen at 208-896-4105mailto:208-896-4105scottj@uidaho.edu.

The Pharo Cattle Company also has newsletters and an on-line presents.  You can contact them at:

Pharo Cattle Co.

Cheyenne Wells, CO

Phone: 1-800-311-0995

Email: Kit@PharoCattle.com

Website: http://www.pharocattle.com/

American GrazingLands Services can be reached at:

American GrazingLands Services LLC

2222 Pahsimeroi Road
May Idaho 83253

Jim & Dawn Gerrish

Tel: 208-876-4067
Fax: 208-876-4067

Jim’s email:jrgerrish@americangrazinglands.com

Dawn’s email: dawn@americangrazinglands.com

National goat conference to be held in Florida in September

By LUISA YANEZ

Miami Herald
August 10, 2010

Goat meat production is recognized as one of the fastest growing areas of the livestock industry in the United States, as a diverse ethnic population has created a greater demand for it.

So it's fitting the marketing of goat meat would get its own conference.

Why Does the U.S. Both Import and Export Beef?

COW/CALF CORNER
The Newsletter
From the Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service
June 4, 2010

Derrell S. Peel, Oklahoma State University Extension Livestock Marketing Specialist

The job of markets is to seek out the highest value for products produced and encourage the most efficient use of resources to facilitate that production. Keeping this in mind helps explain current production and trade relationships in the U.S. beef industry. The U.S. is the largest producer, the largest consumer, the third largest exporter and the largest importer of beef in the world. I get many questions about U.S. beef trade and particularly why we need to import beef.

Why Does the U.S. Both Import and Export Beef?

COW/CALF CORNER
The Newsletter
From the Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service
June 4, 2010

Derrell S. Peel, Oklahoma State University Extension Livestock Marketing Specialist

The job of markets is to seek out the highest value for products produced and encourage the most efficient use of resources to facilitate that production. Keeping this in mind helps explain current production and trade relationships in the U.S. beef industry. The U.S. is the largest producer, the largest consumer, the third largest exporter and the largest importer of beef in the world. I get many questions about U.S. beef trade and particularly why we need to import beef.