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Item An Introduction to Federal Crop Insurance Products for New and Beginning Wyoming Farmers and Ranchers(2019-02) Johnson, James B.; Smith, Vincent H.; Hewlett, John P.Federal crop insurance products have been available to farmers in the United States for 80 years. Beginning in the early 1990s, the range of products offered by the USDA Risk Management Agency expanded, and today farmers have access to federal crop insurance for most of the crops they grow. Currently, nationally farmers can obtain insurance for over 140 crops and forages. Over the past several years, coverage has become widely available for crops produced under organic practices at price elections based on prices that reflect organic premiums.Item Wyoming Barley Production: Opportunities to Manage Production Quality and Revenue Risks(2017-03) Johnson, James B.; Smith, Vincent H.; Hewlett, John P.Barley is an important crop in Wyoming that may be raised as animal feed or for malting. Different varieties are typically used for feed barley and malt barley and malting barley yields are generally lower than feed barley yields. Some farmers may choose to raise organic barley to serve the needs of niche markets. Insurance products offered by the USDA Risk Management Agency are available for feed barley, malting barley (through a malting barley endorsement), and organic barley. These products are the focus of this briefing paper.Item Risk Management for Wyoming Crop and Livestock Commodities Produced Under Organic Practices through the Use of Risk Management Agency Products and Farm Service Agency Programs(2016-08) Johnson, James B.; Smith, Vincent H.; Hewlett, John P.USDA organic regulations describe organic agriculture as the application of a set of cultural, biological, and mechanical practices that support the recycling of on- farm resources, promote ecological balance and conserve biodiversity. These practices include maintaining and enhancing soil and water quality; conserving wetlands and wildlife; and avoiding use of synthetic fertilizers, sewage sludge, irradiation, and genetic engineering.Item Risk Management for Specialty Crop and Specialty Livestock Operations through Farm Service Agency Programs and Risk Management Agency Products(2016-08) Johnson, James B.; Smith, Vincent H.; Hewlett, John P.Two questions are central to understanding producer options for risk management and other government programs related to specialty crops and specialty livestock operations. First: what is a specialty crop? Second: what is a specialty livestock operation? Each of these terms has a legal or administrative definition and a common usage definition. We begin by examining the definition and use of the term specialty crop:Item Introduction to Managing Risk and Specialty and Organic Crop and Livestock Operations(2016-08) Smith, Vincent H.; Johnson, James B.; Hewlett, John P.Producers include specialty and organic crops and specialty livestock in their farm’s enterprises for many reasons. Nevertheless, over the longer term, specialty and organic crop and livestock enterprises have to be managed in ways that ensure the farm remains profitable. On many farms specialty and organic enterprises are included because they allow the farm’s human resources to be used more effectively. A specialty livestock operation (for example, producing cheese from goat’s milk) may be introduced because a family member (child, spouse) has particular skills and interests in the enterprise and the time to manage the operation. The enterprise itself may have the added benefit of serving as a financial risk management tool because revenues from the operation are relatively stable. Increasingly, many farms are choosing to focus substantial amounts of their available resources, or even the whole farm or ranch, to specialty and organic crop and livestock enterprises.Item Managing Forage and Rangeland Production Risks on Wyoming Ranches: NAP, LFP, and PRF-VI(2015-07) Johnson, James B.; Smith, Vincent H.; Hewlett, John P.Wyoming ranch managers are increasingly seeking production risk management tools for harvested forage production and grass production on rangeland. Forage production and rangeland production risks can be addressed to some degree by using the Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program (NAP) provided by the Farm Service Agency (FSA) of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Under certain drought conditions rangeland forage losses are also covered by the FSA-administered Livestock Forage Disaster Program (LFP). Also certain crop insurance products subsidized by the Federal Crop Insurance Corporation (FCIC), with oversight provided by the USDA’s Risk Management Agency (RMA), can be used to address forage losses on hayland and grazing land.Item The Supplementary Insurance Coverage Option: A New Risk Management Tool for Wyoming Producers(2015-04) Smith, Vincent H.; Johnson, James B.; Hewlett, John P.Through the provisions of the 2014 Agricultural Act that became law on February 17, 2014, Wyoming farmers have new farm income safety net-related policy tools that can be used to improve the financial performance of their operations. These tools are intended to enable farmers to increase the average incomes they obtain from their operations and, at the same time, moderate the financial risks they face in managing their enterprises. However, the new set of policy tools requires farmers to make choices among the competing alternatives now available to them about which crop specific programs they should use.Item Production Risk Management for Montana Ranches: The Supplemental Federal Agricultural Disaster Programs(2014-09) Belasco, Eric J.; Smith, Vincent H.; Haynes, George W.; Johnson, James B.Montana ranchers are involved in risky enterprises and use a wide range of tools to manage risk and reduce the chances that they will suffer financial losses. They are experienced in formulating strategies for their operations and carefully develop and implement their production risk management strategies.Item New Farm Programs in the 2014 Farm Bill: Price Loss Coverage, Agricultural Risk Coverage and the Supplemental Coverage Agricultural Insurance Option for Wyoming Farms and Ranches(2014-07) Smith, Vincent H.; Johnson, James B.; Hewlett, John P.The Agricultural Act of 2014 was signed into law on February 17, 2014 by President Obama. The Act, widely referred to as the 2014 Farm Bill, introduces major changes in many U.S. farm programs that are important for farm and ranch owners and managers in Wyoming. Under the provisions of the 2014 Farm Bill, several long standing programs related to farmers’ and ranchers’ risk management decisions that have been widely used by Wyoming agricultural producers were terminated or are being phased out while several new programs have been introduced.Item Production Risk Management for Wyoming Ranches: The Future for Federal Disaster Programs(2013-07) Smith, Vincent H.; Johnson, James B.; Hewlett, John P.Wyoming ranchers know they are involved in risky enterprises and use a wide range of tools to manage risk and reduce the chances that they will suffer financial losses. As a result, they are experienced in developing and implementing risk management strategies for their operations and carefully develop and implement their production risk management strategies.