Beef Risk Management Workshop in Burlington November 10th

November 5, 2004

All area beef producers are encouraged to attend the approaching beef risk management workshop Wednesday, November 10, 2004 from 9:30 a.m. – 3:30 p.m. at the Old Town Barn in Burlington. The program will run from 9:30 to 3:30 with a complimentary lunch sponsored by Eastern Colorado Seeds to be served at noon. This free interactive workshop session hosted by the Kit Carson County Cattlemen and Golden Plains Area Colorado State University Cooperative Extension will be valuable to all involved in the beef industry. Generous support from area insurance agencies, in addition to USDA-RMA support made this program possible.

Livestock Risk Protection update - An update on the recently released Livestock Risk Protection (LRP) program subsidized by USDA-RMA and available for purchase through local insurance agents will be presented by Dennis Kaan, Agriculture and Business Management Economist with Colorado State University Cooperative Extension. LRP is a new risk management tool available to beef producers to help insure against declining market prices. Feeders and Cow-Calf operators alike can take advantage of this program by purchasing coverage for feeder calves and/or fed cattle.

Beef market outlook and BSE discussion - Featured speaker Brett Stuart, trade analyst for the U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF), grew up in ranching and has real world experience in many areas of the beef industry, giving him a very unique and valuable perspective on the business. Brett will present the beef market outlook including a discussion of the recent BSE impacts on the world beef trade situation. USMEF is a check-off funded organization working around the globe to promote U.S. meat exports with offices in Beijing, London, Tokyo, and Paris to name a few. Brett is located in the USMEF Denver office.

A computer based simulation - The RightRisk™ computer simulation, made possible by a USDA-Risk Management Agency (USDA-RMA) Commodity Partnership Agreement with Colorado Cattlemen’s Association, Colorado Livestock Association, and other producer groups in Colorado, is an interactive computer simulation allowing participants to step into a computer simulated ranching environment to experiment with various risk management strategies including forward contracting and retained ownership. Interaction between team members and competition between teams makes this portion of the program a fun and enlightening experience.

This exciting program will touch on many current topics in the beef industry today, and will introduce a promising new risk management tool in LRP. If you have questions contact John Deering, Extension Agent, (970) 345-2287, jdeering@coop.ext.colostate.edu or Bill Korbelik, President, Kit Carson County Cattlemen, (719) 397-2338 or Troy Marshall, Kit Carson County Cattlemen, (719) 346-8984.