Growers Meet & Mingle at Kentucky Commodity Conference

The Kentucky Commodity Conference, which was held January 22 in Bowling Green, brought together nearly 250 growers and industry professionals from across the commonwealth. 2010 marked the 16th year for the event, a joint meeting of the Kentucky Corn Growers, Kentucky Small Grain Growers and Kentucky Soybean Associations.

The meeting began with a lunch and the opportunity to hear from keynote speaker Bruce Vincent (sponsored by the Kentucky Soybean Board). Vincent gave a message "With Vision There is Hope" that armed listeners with ways to work with government, regulatory and consumer groups to protect their livelihoods and share how farmers and ranchers are the world's ultimate environmentalists.

Following the keynote and a brief statement from Jeff Hall, coordinator of the Kentucky Livestock Coalition, growers attended their member associations' annual meetings to discuss priorities, elect board members and receive an update on association activities in the past year.

Monsanto sponsored an afternoon Market Update session, another highlight of the conference. Growers heard from Jim Bower, of AgDay TV and Bower Trading, Inc, and also from Cory Walters, University of Kentucky's extension grain market specialist. Walters provided an overview of risk management options, which generated many questions.

The final highlight of the Kentucky Commodity Conference was the Awards Banquet sponsored by Pioneer and Whayne Supply Co. Yield contest winners and grower leaders were recognized for their accomplishments in 2009. While no yield records were broken, the collective achievement provided a snapshot of success of Kentuckys 2009 record corn and soybean crops.

KyCGA would like to thank all of the generous sponsors that helped make the 2010 Kentucky Commodity Conference a success:

FSA Launches Crop Payment Calculator Online

The USDA Farm Service Agency announced that the 2008 crop program payment calculator is now available to assist producers in determining the benefits that they may receive through the Supplemental Revenue Assistance Payments (SURE) program. USDA reminds producers that to be eligible, a 10 percent production loss on a "crop of economic significance" must have been sustained. To be eligible, growers must also meet a risk management purchase requirement by having either federal crop insurance or being enrolled in the Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program (NAP).

Created by the Food, Conservation and Energy Act of 2008 (2008 Farm Bill), the Agricultural Disaster Relief Trust Fund finances five separate programs that comprehensively address agricultural disasters across the nation, including the Supplemental Revenue Assistance Payments (SURE) program. SURE is expected to provide assistance to producers who suffered qualifying crop production losses, crop quality losses or both due to disaster, adverse weather or other environmental conditions beginning with the 2008 crop year and ending with losses incurred on or before September 30, 2011. The inclusion of a permanent crop disaster program in the 2008 Farm Bill is a change from the ad hoc crop disaster programs that had served as Congress's primary instrument to disburse crop disaster assistance.

For more information on the SURE program and a link to the calculator, visit the FSA website by clicking here.