Better Farm Management A Potent Tool During Hard Times

Editor’s Note: Contact Robin Brumfield, extension specialist in farm financial management,
Rutgers Cooperative Extension, by email at brumfield@aesop.rutgers.edu or by phone at
732-932-9171, ext. 253

Better Farm Management A Potent Tool During Hard Times
Extension educators and specialists to receive training to support farmers

MOUNT POCONO, N.J. – An in-service training workshop on how to better support farmers through the use of various management tools will be offered to extension educators and specialists in the Northeast on June 20-21, at the Mt. Airy Resort and Casino in Mount Pocono, PA.

The workshop, Farm Management During Tough Economic Times, will begin at noon on June 20, and will conclude at noon on June 21, to allow for travel within the Northeast. It will be conducted by a committee of extension specialists in farm business management from several northeastern states with the aim of providing valuable training to extension agents who support farmers and producers in the region.

According to Robin Brumfield, extension specialist in farm financial management with Rutgers
Cooperative Extension , “Many farmers in our region are facing many challenges to keeping afloat and
unfortunately, there is decreasing support in the field as state funding lessens and fewer extension staff
with farm management knowledge remain to serve producers.” As a result, there is increased need for
farmers to be even better managers than in the past to keep their farms viable, but in general, record
keeping is still shown to be among their weaker skills, Brumfield added.

The training workshop is intended to share an array of farm management skills with educators who will, in turn, train farmers to better manage the increasingly competitive agricultural enterprise of modern-day farming and to maintain a marketing edge. Workshop topics include marketing, crop insurance, tax tips, fundamental finances, succession planning and educational programs for women in agriculture. Keynote speaker David Becker, online and digital media pioneer and contributor of “Friend of the Farmer,” a blog featuring farmers and the challenges they face, will talk about the “nuts and bolts” approach to getting farmers online using social networking tools. His article “20 Ways Farmers Can Improve Their Marketing Chops” was featured on HuffPost Green.

The training is funded by the Northeast Center for Risk Management Education, whose goal is “to improve the risk management decision-making processes of agricultural producers in the Northeast Region through a comprehensive educational program.”

This workshop will be offered free for extension specialists and educators from the Northeast, although registration is required by May 15. All meals are included. Funding is available for hotel stay and travel scholarships on a first-come, first-served basis.

To register, go to http://aesop.rutgers.edu/~farmmgmt/. Contact Danelle Miley at dmiley@rci.rutgers.edu for additional information about the conference.

For more information about Farm Management During Tough Economic Times, visit the Facebook page or Rutgers Department of Agricultural, Food, and Resource Economics.

The material that will be covered in Farm Management During Tough Economic Times is based upon work supported by USDA/NIFA, under Award Number 2010-49200-06201.

Rutgers Cooperative Extension, a unit of the New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station, is an equal opportunity program provider and employer.