Writer: Blair Fannin, 979-845-2259, b-fannin@tamu.edu
AUSTIN – Discussion of the 2014 Farm Bill will take center stage at the Texas Ag Forum scheduled April 10 at the Hilton Austin Airport, 9515 Hotel Drive, in Austin.
The event will bring together producers, commodity and farm organization leaders from across the state, said Dr. Joe Outlaw, co-director of the Agricultural and Food Policy Center at Texas A&M University and a Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service economist.
“The 2014 Farm Bill significantly changed the farm program safety net,” he said. “The new law provides producers with a number of choices for both commodity programs and crop insurance. We will take the opportunity to discuss these changes and provide insight on how the new farm programs will work for Texas producers. In short, the conference will focus on what the impacts will be.”
The forum will feature presentations from policy makers, university experts and farm-group representatives.
“Anyone who is interested in production agriculture or the food and fiber system will find this meeting valuable,” Outlaw said. “We are asking some very knowledgeable people for their perspectives. We expect Chairman Frank Lucas of the House Committee on Agriculture to participate via telephone.”
Other expected presenters and topics are:
– (invited) Judith Canales, state executive director for U.S. Department of Agriculture Farm Service Agency in Texas, “Implementing the 2014 Farm Bill.”
– Outlaw, “Commodity Title Overview and Explaining the Crop Policy Decision Aid.”
– Bart Fischer, chief economist for the House Agriculture Committee, “An Insider’s Perspective on the 2014 Farm Bill.”
– Dr. Patrick “Pat” Westhoff, director, Food and Agricultural Policy Research Institute, University of Missouri-Columbia, “Sector Level Analysis of the 2014 Farm Bill.”
– Dr. Doug Steele, director, AgriLife Extension, “Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service and the 2014 Farm Bill.”
– Dr. D. Scott Brown, assistant research professor, department of agricultural and applied economics, University of Missouri-Columbia, “A Dairy Perspective on the 2014 Farm Bill.”
– Dr. Gary Adams, vice president, economics and policy analysis, National Cotton Council, “Cotton and the 2014 Farm Bill.”
– Dr. Mechel S. “Mickey” Paggi, director of the Center for Agricultural Business in the department of agricultural economics, California State University-Fresno, “Fruits and Vegetables and the 2014 Farm Bill.”
Advanced registration is $125 through the Texas Agricultural Cooperative Council, 1210 San Antonio St., Suite 101, Austin, Texas 78701. To register, call 512-450-0555 and ask for Gloria Johnson. Same-day registration is $150.
The Texas Ag Forum is as an association of agricultural leaders and representatives from across the Texas food and fiber system. It was founded more than 20 years ago to provide a forum for open and public discussion of the problems and emerging issues in agriculture. It is a stakeholder-driven program in partnership with AgriLife Extension.
-30-
