A series of free dairy workshops, hosted by West Virginia University Extension Service’s Small Farm Center and the USDA’s Risk Management Agency, will take place Sept. 21 and 22 in Monroe, Jefferson, Mason and Preston counties.

The workshops will introduce price protection crop insurance as a way for dairy operators to manage unpredictable pricing in the marketplace.

Livestock Gross Margin Dairy, an insurance product for dairy farmers, will be explained by crop insurance specialist Gene Gantz of the Risk Management Agency.

The workshops are open to the public statewide and free of charge. Interested attendees are asked to register through their local WVU Extension Service Office.

“This new risk management tool can help dairy families to withstand milk-price swings,” said Small Farm Center Program Leader Tom McConnell of WVU Extension Service.
“I encourage all dairy families to attend the meetings so they might learn, from an expert, how Livestock Gross Margin Dairy can work for them,”

On Wednesday, Sept. 21, workshops will take place in the Eastern Panhandle and Monroe County.

The first workshop will begin at 9 a.m. at the WVU Tree Fruit Research and Education Center on Apple Harvest Lane in Kearneysville.

A second workshop takes place the same day at 4 p.m. at the Monroe County WVU Extension Office in Union.

Additional workshops take place in Mason and Preston Counties, on Thursday, Sept. 22.

The first workshop begins at 11 a.m. at the Mason County Courthouse Annex Auditorium on 6th Street in Point Pleasant.

The final workshop takes place in Kingwood at the Preston County WVU Extension Service Office on West Court Street at 7 p.m.

The Small Farm Center, under the WVU Extension Service, strives to increase the farmer’s bottom line by helping farmers retain more of the dollar spent on food in local communities by offering outreach and education across the state.

To find out more information about registration and the workshop agenda, please call your local office of the WVU Extension Service, or contact Carrie See, Small Farm Center coordinator, at 304-293-2715.

—WVU-ES—

bt 9/19/11

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CONTACT:
Tom McConnell,
WVU Extension Service
Office: 304-293-2642
Cell: 304-698-7007
E-mail: trmcconnell@mail.wvu.edu