Barley is an important crop in Wyoming that may be raised as animal feed or for malting. Different varieties are typically used for feed barley and malt barley and malting barley yields are generally lower than feed barley yields. Some farmers may choose to raise organic barley to serve the needs of niche markets. Insurance products offered by the USDA Risk Management Agency are available for feed barley, malting barley (through a malting barley endorsement), and organic barley. These products are the focus of this briefing paper.

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Farm sector profitability measures forecast for 2017 range from nearly flat to declining. Net cash farm income, one measure of profitability, is forecast at $93.5 billion ($82.2 billion after adjusting for inflation) for 2017, up 1.8 percent compared to the 2016 forecast. Net farm income, a broader measure of profitability because it includes noncash values such as inventory flows and economic depreciation, is forecast at $62.3 billion ($54.8 billion after adjusting for inflation) for 2017, down 8.7 percent compared to 2016.

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The Beige Book is a Federal Reserve System publication about current economic conditions across the 12 Federal Reserve Districts. It characterizes regional economic conditions and prospects based on a variety of mostly qualitative information, gathered directly from District sources.

The most recent Beige Book provides a brief summary of the Agriculture Sector in Western States.

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The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) today announced the availability of a streamlined version of USDA guaranteed loans, which are tailored for smaller scale farms and urban producers. The program, called EZ Guarantee Loans, uses a simplified application process to help beginning, small, underserved and family farmers and ranchers apply for loans of up to $100,000 from USDA-approved lenders to purchase farmland or finance agricultural operations.

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The Multi-Temporal Risk Analyzer (MTRA) Tool was designed to provide economic analysis of multi-year management strategies and decisions involving risk. Examples include investment decisions, changes in production practices, adding and subtracting enterprises, and other decisions that involve multiple years to come to fruition or a multi-year commitment in order to see a positive economic return.

The MTRA tool is unique in that it is specifically designed to analyze risk and uncertainty over a number of years. This is usually accomplished for these types of investment decisions or decisions involving significant management changes by adjusting the time value of money (i.e. interest rate) to include risk or by using conservative estimates for expected returns to account for uncertainty. However, in many cases, these are difficult tasks to accomplish with accuracy or appropriately given the true nature of the uncertainty.

The MTRA tool allows the user to input the decision or proposed change in a partial budget template, where expected positive inflows (increased returns and/or decreased costs) are netted-out against expected negative outflows (decreased returns and/or additional costs). These individual inflows and outflows can be turned on and off over the course of 20 years to reflect long term expectations.

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USDA organic regulations describe organic agriculture as the application of a set of cultural, biological, and mechanical practices that support the recycling of on-farm resources, promote ecological balance and conserve biodiversity.

These practices include maintaining and enhancing soil and water quality; conserving wetlands and wildlife; and avoiding use of synthetic fertilizers, sewage sludge, irradiation, and genetic engineering.

The major focus of this bulletin is on crops and livestock, in the category of organic products for which USDA Risk Management Agency insurance products and USDA Farm Service Agency programs may be available to address production, price and revenue risks and losses from natural catastrophic disasters.

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Two questions are central to understanding producer options for risk management and other government programs related to specialty crops and specialty livestock operations. First: what is a specialty crop? Second: what is a specialty livestock operation?

Each of these terms has a legal or administrative definition and a common usage definition.

This bulletin focuses on the management of production, price, and revenue risks for specialty crops and specialty livestock and the farms and ranches that have incorporated such enterprises into their overall enterprise mix. To be inclusive as possible, the terms specialty crops and specialty livestock operations, are given their broadest and most encompassing interpretations.

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Producers include specialty and organic crops and specialty livestock in their farm’s enterprises for many reasons.

Nevertheless, over the longer term, specialty and organic crop and livestock enterprises have to be managed in ways that ensure the farm remains profitable.

Increasingly, many farms are choosing to focus substantial amounts of their available resources, or even the whole farm or ranch, to specialty and organic crop and livestock enterprises.

This bulletin examines the risks associated with specialty and organic farm enterprises and discusses in general terms the various private and federally supported risk management products and programs that can be used to address them.

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Members of the RightRisk Team contributed to a survey of the Agricultural Industry in the 13 western states. Results are now available from the survey.

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Members of the RightRisk Team have contributed to a Western Extension Committee survey of the Agricultural Industry in the 13 western states. Read the announcement below for instructions on how to participate if you are interested in sharing your perspective on the current conditions in the agriculture sector.

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