Writer: Kay Ledbetter, 806-677-5608, skledbetter@ag.tamu.edu
Contact: Dr. Steve Amosson, 806-677-5600, samosson@ag.tamu.edu
AMARILLO – Farmers and landowners in the Panhandle will have an opportunity to learn more about the 2014 farm bill Nov. 3-Dec. 19 in a second round of informational meetings conducted by the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service.
These meetings will also include U.S. Department of Agriculture Farm Service Agency staff discussing farm bill provisions and sign-up requirements and deadlines, according to Dr. Steve Amosson, AgriLife Extension economist in Amarillo.
All the meetings are free and open to the public. They will start at 10 a.m. and conclude at noon. In addition to the Farm Service staff, each one will include AgriLife Extension specialists demonstrating a decision-aid tool developed by the Agricultural and Food Policy Center at Texas A&M University to help producers economically evaluate program choices.
Amosson said he and DeDe Jones, another Amarillo-based AgriLife Extension economist, will provide analysis of the policy options using examples of producers who have already been through the decision-aid process.
Each location will also offer an optional “hands-on” afternoon session for producers wanting assistance in entering their data into the decision-aid tool.
“Sign-up is already underway for base reallocation and yield updates, and sign-up for Price Loss Coverage or PLC and Agricultural Risk Coverage, the ARC, starts November 17,” Amosson said. “These decisions, in a lot of cases, are not simple and need to be taken seriously because they will affect operations for at least the next five years.”
The series of meetings is cosponsored by the Texas Corn Producers, Texas Sorghum Producers, Texas Wheat Producers and the Plains Cotton Growers Associations.
The meetings by date and location will be:
Nov. 3 – Deaf Smith County, Hereford Community Center, 100 Ave. C, Hereford.
Nov. 4 – Hall County, Kathy Fowler Building, 123 S. 6th St., Memphis.
Nov. 6 – Hall County, Bob Wills Center, 602 Lyles St., Turkey.
Nov. 6 – Hansford and Hutchinson counties, First Baptist Church – Family Life Center, 123 S. Bernice, Spearman.
Nov. 11 – Dallam/Hartley counties, Rita Blanca Coliseum, 219 Farm-to-Market Road 281, Dalhart.
Nov. 12 – Moore County, Moore County Community Building, 1600 S. Maddox Ave., Dumas.
Nov. 13 – Wheeler County, Wheeler County Agriculture and Family Life Center, 7939 N. U.S. Highway 83, Wheeler.
Nov. 17 – Lipscomb County, Wolf Creek Heritage Museum, 13310 Texas 305, Lipscomb.
Nov. 18 – Potter County, Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Extension Center, 6500 W. Amarillo Blvd., Amarillo.
Nov. 18 – Sherman County, Sherman County Barn, 501 S. Maple St., Stratford.
Nov. 19 – Ochiltree County, Ochiltree County Expo Center, 402 Expo Drive, Perryton.
Nov. 20 – Randall County, Kuhlman Extension Center, 200 Brown Road, Canyon.
Nov. 25 – Briscoe County, Pioneer Room, Silverton Happy State Bank, 500 Main St., Silverton.
Dec. 4 – Hemphill County, Hemphill County Exhibition Center, 10865 Exhibition Center Road, Canadian.
Dec. 5 – Donley County, Church of Christ Family Life Center, 300 S. Carhart, Clarendon.
Dec. 8 – Armstrong County, Armstrong Activity Center, Farm-to-Market Road 207 South, Claude.
Dec. 10 – Oldham County, Oldham County Barn, 305 Coke St., Vega.
Dec. 11 – Roberts County, Roberts County Annex, 122 Water St., Miami.
Dec. 16 – Carson County, War Memorial Building, 500 Main St., Panhandle.
Dec. 17 – Gray County, Clyde Carruth Show Barn located in Recreation Park, Pampa.
Dec. 18 – Collingsworth County, Bura Handley Community Building, 802 10th St., Wellington.
For more information on a particular meeting, contact the AgriLife Extension office in that county. For a list of county offices, go to http://amarillo.tamu.edu/ and click on the County Offices tab.
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