Writer: Kay Ledbetter, 806-677-5608, skledbetter@ag.tamu.edu
Contact: Dr. Steve Amosson, 806-677-5600, samosson@ag.tamu.edu
AMARILLO – The Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service will conduct two educational programs on the 2014 farm bill’s dairy provisions Oct. 24 in Hereford and Hartley.
The first meeting will be from 9 a.m.-noon in the AgriLife Extension office for Deaf Smith County, 903 14th St. in Hereford; and the second will be from 2-5 p.m. in the Hartley Community Building, 815 Central Ave.
Dr. Steve Amosson, AgriLife Extension economist at Amarillo and meeting coordinator, said the meetings are free and open to the public. Dr. Dave Anderson, AgriLife Extension economist-livestock marketing from College Station, and Kelly Adkins and Beth Batenhorst, U.S. Department of Agriculture Farm Service Agency district directors, will be the programs’ main speakers.
Adkins and Batenhorst will discuss the dairy provisions in the farm bill. Anderson will provide analysis of the Margin Protection Program options and demonstrate the decision aid tool developed to help dairy producers understand their choices and make informed decisions.
“The Dairy Margin Protection Program is the centerpiece of the farm bill with respect to dairy,” Amosson said. “It is a new and unique safety net program meant to provide dairy producers with indemnity payments when a composite U.S. dairy margin falls below the margin coverage levels the producer chooses on an annual basis.
“In my opinion, the choice to enroll is a no-brainer for dairy producers,” he said. “The real questions center around enrollment details and determining the level of protection, and these are the issues that will be addressed in these meetings.”
Sign-up for the Margin Protection Program is currently underway, with a final date to enroll of Nov. 28.
For more information, contact Amosson at Amarillo at 806-677-5600 or samosson@tamu.edu .
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