Extension profitability conference to be at CC

Dateline: December 4, 2008

Extension profitability conference to be at CC

By Roger Estlack, Clarendon Enterprise

AMARILLO – Profitability conferences have been scheduled throughout the Panhandle by Texas AgriLife Extension Service economists to help producers prepare for the upcoming crop year, and one of the conferences will be held in Clarendon.

“Volatile market conditions and unstable production costs for crop and livestock operations have created a need for 2009 budgeting,” said DeDe Jones, AgriLife Extension risk management specialist. “Also being up-to-date on the 2008 farm bill will aid producers in their crop and livestock decisions.”

The local meeting will be held December 11 at 9 a.m. at the Clarendon College Bairfield Activity Center.

At total of ten meetings have been scheduled across the region in the next two months, Jones said. For more information on individual meetings, individuals should contact the AgriLife Extension office in their county. County office contact information can be found online at http://texasextension.tamu.edu/county/ .

At each meeting, Dr. Steve Amosson, AgriLife Extension economist, will give a commodity market outlook and talk about irrigated crop budgets. Patrick Warminski, AgriLife Extension risk management specialist, will follow with discussion of dryland crop budgets and flexible cash leases. Jones will wrap it up with the farm bill discussion.

Each meeting will be about two and a half hours long. Other dates and locations of the meetings are as follows: December 15, 9 a.m., White Deer Community Center, White Deer; December 16, 9 a.m., Randall County Extension Center, Canyon; December 16, producer meeting starts at 9 a.m., market outlook at 1 p.m., Moore County Community Building, Dumas; December 17, 1 p.m., Chamber of Commerce, 105 E. 12th Street, Shamrock; December 18, 9 a.m., First State Bank, Dalhart; January 5, 1 p.m., Ochiltree County Expo Center, Perryton; January 5, 7 p.m., Lipscomb Clubhouse, Lipscomb; January 6, noon, O’Laughlin Center, Spearman; and January 27, 10 a.m., Deaf Smith County Extension Center, 903 14th Street, Hereford.