Code Red document will help farm families in time of crisis

February 17, 2015  


WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Purdue Extension's Women in Agriculture team has developed a resource to help farm families and owners of other small businesses keep important information handy in the event they need it in an emergency. 

Called Code Red, the spreadsheet has two main sections - one for personal information and the other for business information.

In the event of an emergency, the business would be able to continue in a timely fashion and with minimal disruption because of the resource of Code Red, said Kelly Heckaman, Women in Agriculture committee co-chair and an Extension educator in Kosciusko County.

"The crisis may be only for a short time, or it may be a long-term change in the operation, but the need for timely information about the people in the operation and their contacts are very important," Heckaman said. "We hope this resource will help farm families turn a code red situation into a code green and the business can continue to operate."

The spreadsheet keeps important information such as passwords, bank account information, rental agreements, insurance papers and power-of-attorney documents in one location.

"It should become the go-to tool if something happened to a key member of the management team," Heckaman said.

Women in Agriculture has set up training sessions across the state to introduce Code Red. Presenters will go over security controls, such as where to store the document and the option of protecting access to it with a password. Attorneys will be at some of the programs to discuss the importance of wills, trusts and power-of-attorney documents.

There is a $10 registration fee at each session, except for one on Feb. 26, to cover refreshments and the Code Red flash drive that participants will receive. Participants should bring a laptop computer.

The meetings, with dates, times and locations (all times EST unless otherwise noted):

* Feb. 26, 6-8:30 p.m., 4-H Building's Learning Center, 102 N. 4th St., Flora. Speakers: Kelly Heckaman and Andrew Martin, Purdue Extension. RSVP by Feb. 19 to Paul Marcellino at 765-456-2313 or pmarcell@purdue.edu.

* March 9, 1-3 p.m. CST; Jasper County Fairgrounds, 2671 W. Clark St., Rensselaer. Speakers: Todd Sammons of Randle and Sammons Law, and Bryan Overstreet, Purdue Extension. RSVP by March 5 to Overstreet at 219-866-5741 or boverstr@purdue.edu.

* March 10, 6:30-8:30 p.m., Purdue Extension-Kosciusko County Extension Office, 202 W Main St., Warsaw. Speakers: Chad Miner of Miner & Lemon LLP and Kelly Heckaman, Purdue Extension. RSVP and payment by March 3 to Heckaman at 574-372-2340 or kheckaman@purdue.edu for registration form.

* March 16, 10 a.m. to noon, Southwest Purdue Agricultural Center, 4669 N. Purdue Road, Vincennes. Speaker: Jenna Nees, Purdue Extension. RSVP to Valerie Clingerman at 812-882-3509 or clingerman@purdue.edu.

* March 19, 6:30-8:30 p.m., DeKalb County Community Office Building, 215 E. 9th St., Auburn. Speakers: Andrew Kruse of Kruse & Kruse and Kelly Heckaman, Purdue Extension. RSVP to Elysia Rodgers at 260-925-2562 or eberry@purdue.edu.

* March 20, 2-4 p.m., lobby of the Kuhlman Building on the Wayne County Fairgrounds, 861 Salisbury Road N, Richmond. Speakers: Dan Gordon of Gordon & Associates and Anna Morrow, Purdue Extension. RSVP to Morrow at 765-647-3511or annamorrow@purdue.edu.

* March 23, 6-8 p.m., Southeast Purdue Agricultural Center, 4425 E. 350 N, Butlerville. Speakers: Ken Roney, Indiana Farm Bureau, and Anna Morrow, Purdue Extension. RSVP to Morrow at 765-647-3511 or annamorrow@purdue.edu.           

Writer: Keith Robinson, 765-494-2722, robins89@purdue.edu 

Source: Kelly Heckaman, 574-372-2340, kheckaman@purdue.edu

Ag Communications: (765) 494-2722;
Keith Robinson, robins89@purdue.edu
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