USDA’s 2013 Agricultural Outlook Forum, Feb. 21-22, in Arlington, Va., will host a morning of plenary session speakers on the opening day followed by 25 breakout sessions.  The “Food Price Outlook” breakout session for 2013 will offer perspectives on food price inflation, the factors contributing to food prices, and the consumer implications.

In this session, Dr. Todd Davis, Senior Economist for the American Farm Bureau Federation, will discuss the link between this past year’s harvest and the prices consumers pay for food. Joining him will be USDA economist Richard Volpe explaining the relationship between food prices and inflation.  Kurt Collins, Senior Director of Commodity Risk Management for Unified Foodservice Purchasing Co-op, will explore strategies the food industry is using to manage commodity price risks. The “Farm Income” session will focus on general measures of the financial well-being of the farm economy and farm households.

To learn more about the Forum, please visit our website.

Pacific Northwest diversified crop and livestock producers now have a valuable online tool to help them better evaluate whole-farm insurance protection. AGR-Lite is a federally subsidized, whole-farm revenue protection package and is available through private crop insurance agents in 38 states. The tool will allow farmers to explore their eligibility to estimate premium costs specific to their farms, consider various future loss scenarios and print reports to assist in their insurance options. USDA’s Risk Management Agency (RMA) funded a partnership between the National Center for Appropriate Technology (NCAT) and Montana Tech of the University of Montana to develop AGR-Lite.

The tool uses a producer’s 5-year historical IRS farm income information and an annual farm report as a base to provide a level of guaranteed revenue for the insurance period. It also provides insurance coverage for multiple agriculture commodities in one insurance product and provides maximum liability coverage of $1 million. Read more »

Energy crops have tremendous potential to reduce our dependence on foreign oil and create jobs in rural America.  USDA’s Risk Management Agency is expanding its efforts to see if new insurance products can be developed for the producers of these renewable, clean energy crops that are grown right here in America.

The Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 established that a mandate that this country’s use of renewable transportation fuels reach 36 billion gallons by 2022.  Of that, 20 billion gallons are targeted to come from second generation biofuel sources, including switchgrass, energy cane, woody biomass and other feedstocks. The Act encouraged biofuels research and development. Read more »

Another impeccable line-up of speakers, led by Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, has been announced for the 2011 Agricultural Outlook Forum. Titled “Today’s Strategies & Tomorrow’s Opportunities,” the Forum will be held February 24-25, 2011, at the Crystal Gateway Marriott Hotel in Arlington, Va.  The Plenary Panel speakers include:

Moderator—Christine Cochran, President, Commodity Markets Council; Nariman Behravesh, Chief Economist, IHS Global Insight on Critical Issues Shaping the Global Economic Outlook; Charles Whitman, Founder and CEO, Infinium Capital Management on Electronic Trading and the Globalization of Grain Markets; Pete Nessler, President, FCStone, LLC on A Brokerage Firm’s Approach to Risk Management; Michael Copps, Commissioner, Federal Communications Commission on Opening the Internet to the Rural Community. Read more »