Season wrap-up for Farm Policy & Risk Management Series
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EmailSession recordings on managing production and marketing risk now available.
MSU Extension’s Farm Policy and Risk Management Series has wrapped for the 2024-2025 season and released the recordings from this year’s program. The series seeks to aid producers in managing or reducing impacts from potential risks to their farms. New to this season there was added emphasis on understanding marketing environments to help managers better position their farms to take advantage of price opportunities. Several sessions featured guest speakers and/or panelists from within the agriculture industry.
Marketing and input strategies
How do grain prices and market conditions influence revenue or product availability? Can you act now to secure profits or priority needs? Identifying your crop price and input needs are all part of maximizing yield potential and secure profits. Speakers discussed current market conditions and optimal strategies for putting your farm plans into action.
Livestock insurance
Livestock Risk Partners and MSU Extension spoke on livestock insurance programs for beef and swine producers. They provided an outline of how the program functions and how to work with an insurance agent. The session also reviewed how to develop protection strategies and how to calculate program costs and indemnity payments.
Farm Bill commodity programs
These sessions explored sign-up options for the 2025 Farm Bill commodity programs. MSU Extension experts provided information on current policy updates and how these relate to the Farm Bill. In addition, speakers explained how Farm Bill programs interact with crop insurance policies along with examples using the MSU Extension Farm Bill Analyzer. The calculator helps showcase which programs may produce the most benefits for a producer’s individual needs.
- Farm Bill Policy Overview and Expectations
- Commodity Programs Decision
- Using the 2025 MSU Farm Bill Analyzer
- Take Home Considerations
Managing risk through diverse specialty crop marketing strategies
Finding the right mix of specialty crop marketing strategies to match your goals and skill set can be an important piece of risk management for your farm. Having multiple outlets available to sell your items provides resiliency and options. Fortunately, there are lots of options to consider. This session provided an overview of various direct and intermediated market channels for specialty crop producers, including the benefits and risk management considerations of each.
Michigan Apple Cost of Production (COP) – Recording in early summer
Due to the remaining work underway on the 2025 Michigan Apple Cost of Production (COP) study, the planned live webinar for March has been cancelled. However, a video recording is planned for early Summer on the final results of the study. The recording will also discuss how to use the Apple COP as a decision tool, using your farm’s numbers to calculate your farm-specific costs. All registrants will receive a copy of the video link once it becomes available.
Farm Safety
At each session, MSU also offered short segments on available farm safety and prevention resources from the Division of Occupational and Environmental Medicine at Michigan State University.
The Farm Policy and Risk Management Series is a free program presented by Michigan State University Extension. All session recordings can also be found under the videos section of the MSU Farm Business Management homepage.
