Purdue Ag News Roundup
Purdue Ag News Roundup
|
|
August 21, 1998
Purdue offers risk-management seminarsWEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- Weather volatility, low crop prices, higher yields and larger stockpiles have conspired to make risk management a priority topic for farmers and the consultants who work for them.But there are all kinds of risks, and agricultural advisers need to be aware of the tools available to minimize or avoid financial losses, says a Purdue University agricultural economist who is organizing four risk-management seminars across Indiana in September. "The seminars are intended for lenders, crop insurance agents, consultants, farm managers and marketing advisers who may only deal with one aspect of risk that producers face," said George Patrick, the Purdue Cooperative Extension Service agricultural economist who is organizing the seminars. Specialists from Purdue, Indiana Farm Bureau Inc. and the U.S. Department of Agriculture Risk Management Agency will cover marketing risk, financial risk, legal risk and human resource risk, which can include untimely death, disability, divorce and poor-performing employees. Connersville farmer Brad Starr will discuss production risks. The speakers also will provide an overview of risk-management tools and effective risk-management strategies. Preregistration is required by calling Gary Lee, Purdue Division of Conferences, at (800) 359-2968. The cost is $45, which includes lunch. Workshops will last from 8 a.m. until 3:30 p.m. at four sites:
Sept. 2: West Lafayette, Holiday Inn, I-65 and State Road 43 (Exit 178). Individuals can file for a federal tax credit for their tuition by including their Social Security number on their registration. CONTACT: Patrick, (765) 494-4241; e-mail, patrick@agecon.purdue.edu
New Crop CD puts volumes of info at your fingertipsWEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- Farmers, food processors and researchers looking for alternatives to soybeans, corn, cotton or other traditional crops now can glean reams of information at the click of a mouse.The New Crop Compendium, a $75 CD-ROM produced by Purdue University Professor Jules Janick and NewCrop Webmaster Anna Whipkey, lets you sort out all the references to crops such as ginger or kenaf from three books on new crops. "The three books on the CD constitute the most up-to-date and comprehensive reference on underexploited, neglected, new and specialty crops," said Janick, director of the Center for New Crops & Plant Products, "and if you bought the books, you'd pay a list price of $295." Researchers in the New Crops Center identify, adapt and commercialize new crops. As part of that mission they've held three National New Crops Symposia where scientists, food processors and growers presented information that has been compiled into the three books now on the CD: "Advances in New Crops," 1990 by Janick and Purdue horticulturist Jim Simon; "New Crops," 1993, by Janick and Simon; and "Progress in New Crops," 1996, by Janick. "In many ways,the CD-ROM is a vast improvement over owning the three volumes separately, because any word mentioned in any of the books is available through the search engine," Janick said. The CD also has a dictionary, links to the NewCrop Web site, and links to on-line help. You can order the New Crop Compendium for $75 plus shipping ($5 in the United States, $10 outside) from Purdue's Distance Education Services, 1586 Stewart Center, Room 116, West Lafayette, IN 47907-1586, phone: (800) 830-0269 or (765) 494-2748. More information and an order form are at https://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/compendium/order.html If you want to see the new CD before you buy, you'll find it at the Fourth National New Crops Symposium, Nov. 8-11 in Phoenix, Ariz. For more information on the conference, visit https://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop (the NewCrop home page), or write to the Association for the Advancement of Industrial Crops, 1998 Conference, c/o U.S. Water Conservation Laboratory, 4331 East Broadway Road, Phoenix, AZ 85040-8832. CONTACT: Janick (765) 494-1329; e-mail, jjanick@hort.purdue.edu
'Steps to Export Success' teleconferenceWEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- A two-hour teleconference for businesses that want to improve or start export sales will be aired Wednesday, Sept. 9, at the Hamilton County office of the Purdue University Cooperative Extension Service in Noblesville.The program is co-sponsored by the Purdue and Iowa Extension services, in cooperation with the Indiana and U.S. Departments of Commerce and the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The target audience is small and medium-sized companies new to international sales as well as farmer cooperatives and alliances. While the focus will be on processed food products, conference organizers said the principles will apply to almost any business. Participants will learn about marketing value-added products abroad and what foreign buyers look for from U.S. suppliers. "'Made in the USA' carries an instant cachet in many countries," said Dick Gelzleichter, Extension program coordinator for Purdue's International Programs in Agriculture office. "Steps to Exporting Success" will run from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 9, at the Hamilton County Extension Office, 2003 E. Pleasant St., Noblesville. After the program, Purdue staff will moderate a panel of agency staff who will talk about what information and resources are available to Indiana businesses. The program is free, but preregistration is encouraged. To register, contact the Hamilton County Extension Office at (317) 776-0854 or fax at (317) 776-9892. For program information, contact Gelzleichter at (765) 494-8461; e-mail, reg@agad.purdue.edu.
11 Indiana youths to attend National 4-H CongressNOTE TO JOURNALISTS: Photographs of the 11 4-H delegates are available from Purdue Agricultural Communication Service, (765) 494-8396.WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- Eleven Indiana 4-H'ers have been selected to attend the 1998 annual National 4-H Congress Nov. 27 to Dec. 1 in Atlanta. The congress encourages 4-H youths to learn new leadership skills and experience multicultural events and ideas. The youths will participate in a nationally televised town meeting and perform a day of community service. The Indiana delegates to the 1998 National 4-H Congress, by county, are:
According to Bob Ritchie, associate professor of 4-H youth at Purdue University, the day of community service is one of the most important events of the congress. Youths at past 4-H Congress meetings have helped plant trees in city parks and made coats for the homeless. This year, the 4-H members will spend time with Atlanta volunteer agencies. "Kids from 4-H, from all the states, go out in the city of Atlanta and assist 35 to 40 service agencies," he said. "To me, it's one of the most outstanding things they do." CONTACT: Ritchie, (765) 494-8439; e-mail, bob_ritchie@four-h.purdue.edu
4-H youths to learn leadership skills at Indiana conferenceWEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- Twenty-nine 4-H'ers throughout Indiana have won scholarships between $500 and $2,000 to participate in the fourth annual Indiana 4-H Congress.Bob Ritchie, associate professor of 4-H youth at Purdue University, said the congress will be Nov. 7 in Indianapolis. These 4-H members, along with county nominees, will attend two leadership sessions at the Indiana Repertory Theater. A luncheon honoring the participants will be held at the Indiana Roof Ballroom. The congress is one of the highlights of the year for these 4-H members, Ritchie said. "What it can do is to get together youths from all over the state, and let them share experiences with their compatriots," he said. "Hopefully, they'll expand this leadership throughout the state." The volunteer-led 4-H program is the largest youth-serving organization in the country. In Indiana, 4-H is part of the Purdue Cooperative Extension Service. 4-H programs statewide reach more than 252,000 youths and 20,500 volunteer adults and Junior Leaders.
The scholarship winners, by county, are:
CONTACT: Ritchie, (765) 494-8439; e-mail, bob_ritchie@four-h.purdue.edu
Compiled by Chris Sigurdson, (765) 494-8415; E-mail, sig@ecn.purdue.edu Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; e-mail, purduenews@purdue.edu
|
