News Archives

Iowa State University

James Roth
(515) 294-8459

$552,505

The objective of this research is to develop and deliver to beef and dairy producers nationwide, risk management tools to minimize the potential for the introduction and spread of infectious diseases. The tool will focus on the routes of disease transmission.

Kilauea Consulting, Inc.

Kathy Bates
(808) 989-6454

$637,805

HOSS develops and implements an easy-to-use web based decision tool designed to help limited resource producers and underserved producers with limited English language proficiency make more informed decisions at the enterprise and farm levels. HOSS would help these producers foresee the probabilities associated with future returns on investment when undertaking or expanding enterprises and the implications this has for their farm as a whole, including the debt repayment capacity and ability to borrow additional funds.

University of Illinois, Board of Trustees

Bruce Sherrick
(217) 244-2187

$379,196

The project develops improved tools for producers to use to measure, characterize, and understand farm-level production and revenue risk through time using their own, or location specific historic experiences; and provides a framework to interpret the effects of alternative risk management options including the impacts of crop diversification, crop insurance, marketing alternatives, and government programs payments, and develops a multi-year decision tool to evaluate the impacts of alternative risk management decisions on farm revenue.

Kansas State University

Michael Sanderson
(785) 532-4264

$251,900

The main objective in this project is to develop a risk management tool for use by beef cow-calf producers. The tool will assist them in identifying biologically and economically viable biosecurity practices to decrease the probability and minimize the impact of reproductive disease introduction.

Arizona Board of Regents for Arizona State University

Timothy Richards
(480) 727-1488

$216,677

The primary objective of this research is to design a new type of financial instrument that specialty crop growers can use to manage financial risks caused by pest infestations. This research will provide an innovative new tool to manage the serious financial risks caused by insects - risks faced by all specialty crop growers.

AgriLogic, Inc.

Tim Johnson
(979) 690-2106 X8102

$516,487

Calf-SCRAMBL is an interactive internet-based toolset designed to help cow-calf producers make informed marketing strategy decisions given their resources available, market conditions, and financial situation. It will evaluate expected revenues for marketing alternatives and any additional costs (or opportunity costs) required for these strategies.

Texas Agricultural Experiment Station

Thomas Gerik
(254) 774-6000

$127,190

The main objective is to develop information on crop yield probabilities so growers can assess production risks of current and alternative management practices in the Texas Lower Rio Grande Valley. Using these data the researchers will develop a hands-on, spreadsheet-based decision tool to assess the risk of various crop, soil, and irrigation practices, and quantify economic trade-offs in allocating soil and water resources to various cropping alternatives.

Grazinglands Management Systems, Inc.

Jerry Stuth
(979) 764-7896

$291,055

This partnership seeks to transfer a web-based burning risk assessment decision support system (BRASS) developed for Southern Forests under a prior USDA-RMA partnership to grazinglands (BRASS-G) where fire is used as a best management practice to foster more desirable forage production with less inter-annual variation. The BRASS-G project seeks to develop a tool that will reduce the risk of catastrophic losses due to misapplication of prescribed burning.

North Carolina State University

Barry Goodwin
(919) 515-4620

$446,788

This project develops an easy to use, research-based, web-format, risk assessment and management calculator that cattle feeders, or those considering retaining ownership of calves through finishing, could use to assess expected returns and financial and production risks associated with placing cattle on feed.

Washington State University

Marcia Ostrom
(253) 445-4514

$212,775

The goal is to improve the profitability of new and existing Hmong and Latino farmers in Washington through the development of an integrated, systems-based tool that will assist in successfully managing their most significant risks.

University of Florida

Robert Emerson
(352) 392-1881 X316

$730,319

The proposed research establishes labor requirements, assesses labor-related risk, and develops risk management tools for producers to assess risk associated with labor in specialty crop agriculture.

Washington Wine Industry Foundation

Vicky Scharlau
(509) 782-8234

$743,050

This partnership will provide for the development of 1) a comprehensive industry database and the associated reporting mechanisms for use in vineyards and wineries in ID, OR, and WA; 2) Cost-Of-Production Calculators for organic and conventionally grown apples, cherries, grapes, and pears; 3) Automated crop load and yield estimation techniques for grapes; 4) Acreage inventories in WA by crop, variety, age and production to assist grape and tree fruit growers in their decision-making processes and reduce the impacts of year-to-year variability.