The 2012 New Hampshire Risk Management Workshop for Agricultural Professionals was held on January 13th. Around 50 people gathered at the Holiday Inn in Concord. Jeff Temple, Vice President, and Clara Hall, Credit Analyst, represented Yankee Farm Credit at the meeting. There was also representation from the Bedford Office of Farm Credit East.
Lorraine Merrill, NH Commissioner of Agriculture, started the day off stressing the importance of collaboration and cooperation of knowledge and resources across the different agriculture agencies. She also reminded us to encourage participation in the 2012 Census. She touched on one of NH's biggest challenges, the growth of Boston and developments in New Hampshire. In the 2007 Census NH was 5th in the nation for largest percentage of agriculture land getting developed at 10-20% (for comparison, VT is at 2-5%).
Marge Kilkelly, Deputy Director of Eastern Regional Conference/Council of State Government, followed Commissioner Merrill and discussed the 2012 Farm Bill. She brought to our attention that if the Farm Bill doesn’t go through this year there will be 37 programs lost, but she remained optimistic because there are 8 Members in the House and 3 Members in the Senate from North East Agriculture. Ms. Kilkelly expressed that her number one priority is to make a plan within the NE region.
Dave Bishop, Bedford Branch Manager, Farm Credit East, spoke next about the plan for Agriculture Credit over the next few years. He addressed the most significant influences in planning for credit as being the health and future of our customers, skilled staff, cost and availability of capital and the ability to manage risk. His take-aways for our customers were the importance of Working Capital and the need for Self Evaluation. He also noted the significance an FSA guarantee can carry for different situations.
Gene Gantz, USDA Risk Management Agency, presented on Risk Management Plans. He handed out a Risk Management Checklist (which is available at each office) that is a great planning tool for farmers, and he talked about how vital it is to know what your insurance covers so that you know what to expect when you need to cash in.
James Phinizy, the NH State Director for the Farm Service Agency, followed lunch and talked about different programs that FSA offers. Mr. Phinizy explained the Emergency response process which starts with the 5 county offices who contact farmers, extension offices and NRCS in order to compile notes. If a natural disaster is declared it is considered at a committee level first then goes to the state and then on to the national level; once it is approved applications begin to be processed. Mr. Phinizy also touched on NAP which is a non-insured assistance program available for products without current crop insurance accessible.
Greg Thompson, of Freedom Energy Logistics, educated us on ‘Deregulation’ which is not energy conservation or an increase in energy efficiency but a way to ‘pay less for what you use’. In 1999 federal government enacted a law forcing local electric utilities to allow other electricity suppliers to carry power over their lines, creating a competitive environment. There are currently 17 deregulated states, NH being one of them (VT is still regulated). Freedom Energy Logistics ‘aggregates’ individuals giving them the same advantage and buying power that big companies have and thus creating a lower cost.
Rick Ellsmore, State Conservationist with NRCS, talked briefly about programs they are working on including: the 90/10 solution (Conservation Delivery Streamline Initiative), EQUIP, WHIP, AMAP, CSP, Easement programs, and their Local Work Groups which meet and discuss needs for each county.
Lisa Townson, Assistant Director of UNH Cooperative Extension, ended the day letting us know updates with the extension office. The budget decreased by $1.7 million and because of that they have lost 23 positions since the first of the year. That being said, they are working on regionalizing and specializing their staff and will rely on grants to cover 35% of their budget. They are excited about 4 new program teams: 1) Food and Agriculture 2) Natural Resources 3) Youth and Families and 4) Community Economic Development.
