2014 Extension Fall Conference

Rick Koelsch, UNL Extension

November 12-14 should be marked on the calendars of all Extension professionals for Extension Fall Conference.  A brief update on the four keynote presenters who will highlight this year's event is provided.

We will start the conference off with two keynote presentations on November 12 focusing on "Creating Extension Future".  Chuck Hibberd will start us with a presentation focused on E"Excellence in Extension" and building up last fall faculty conversations on the same topic and this fall's webinars that begin the exploration of this issue.  We will follow with a presentation by Doug Steele, director of the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service.  Doug will present his vision for "Extension in the 21st Century".

November 13 will highlight NCEA's professional development role for supporting ALL Extension professionals. We will open the day with a keynote presentation by Jay Rifenbary on the topic of "Incorporating Core Values, Accountability, and Balance into Your Life and Career".  Jay has recently served as keynote presenter at the Joint Council of Extension Professionals annual meeting as well as Extension Conferences in Kentucky and Purdue.  The luncheon speaker will be Harold Jarche.  Harold will focus on workplace and educational transformations. His message will center around how people are learning in a 21st century networked world. November 13's professional development workshops are open to all Extension professionals.

November 14 will be a time for Action Teams to gather and plan their educational efforts for 2015.

Stay tune for additional information on Fall Conference.

Extension Risk Management Education Competitive Grants Program

By Brad Lubben and Rick Koelsch

Extension Risk Management Education Competitive Grants Program announces New RFA Dates & Timeline. The 2015 Request for Applications (RFA) will be announced on or about September 15, 2014.

The application deadline is set for November 17, 2014.  In previous years, this program required a pre-proposal. Pre-proposals have been omitted from the application process in 2015. Applicant notification is planned for February 16, 2015 with a project start date for successful applicants beginning on April 1, 2015.  For more information, please contact the North Central Extension Risk Management Education Center, University of Nebraska Extension, (402) 472-2039 or review their web resources at http://www.ncrme.org/Grants/index.html .

The Nebraska folks have had good success with funding, including the current active REME education projects and PDs:

• Tim Lemmons - Farm Bill Education – education grant
• Robert Tigner – “Decide Now” marketing plan app and education – education grant
• Monte Vandeveer – “Mitigating Drought Risk for Nebraska Livestock and Forage Producers” – education grant
• Jessica Johnson – “Managing Human Risk on the Farm or Ranch” – exploratory grant

Risk management involves taking a deliberate and knowledgeable approach to dealing with one or more of the five primary sources of risk: Production, Marketing, Financial, Legal and Human. Helping farmers and ranchers to evaluate their risk tolerance and to seek and apply improved risk management practices is a key objective of this program. Last years RFA found at http://www.ncrme.org/Grants/documents/2014_RFA_NorthCentralCenter_002.pdf provides more detailed examples on page 5 for topics considered as part of production, marketing, financial, legal, and human risks. 

The 2015 RFA will be open to all groups and disciplines that can address risk management needs for farmers and ranchers, remembering that the focus is on producer education regarding management decisions and the adoption of the risk management practices. The grants will not fund research.  Any crop or livestock production risk projects that tend to focus on the risk management tool (crop insurance, diversification, IPM decision making, etc.) or the enterprise analysis and choice (cost of production, new enterprises, etc.) as opposed to the basic production questions (fertilizer or seed trial, feeding trial, etc.) are potential proposal ideas. Are there needs for educational tools or resources to help producers make risk management decisions related to adding cover crops, considering alternative irrigation strategies, implementing drought management plans, or improving their resilience to a changing climate? Consider the possible education needs, producer demand, and program ideas and collaborators to begin planning for a successful grant application.

Stay tune for additional information on the 2015 RFA.