In the News - November 2009
U of A Division of Agriculture hosts Southern Risk Management Education Center
LITTLE ROCK - Helping producers make the best decisions to achieve their
business and family goals is the mission of the Southern Risk Management
Education Center, operated by the University of Arkansas Division of
Agriculture.
The center will be directed jointly by Dr. Ronald L. Rainey and Dr. Harold L.
Goodwin, associate professor and professor of the department of agricultural
economics and agribusiness. It is one of four regional centers nationwide that
collaborate to educate growers.
The center will coordinate risk management education programs in Arkansas,
Alabama, Georgia, Florida, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina,
Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Puerto Rico and the U.S.
Virgin Islands. Center activities will be guided by a highly diverse advisory
committee, Rainey said.
"The center will be focused on the five areas of risk: production, marketing,
financial, legal, and human resources risks," Goodwin said. "We'll seek
comprehensive projects that encourage interaction with growers and grower
organizations."
The center will feature collaboration between Division of Agriculture
extension faculty at the Little Rock campus and the main campus in Fayetteville,
is funded by an annual $1.2 million from the National Institute of Food and
Agriculture, part of USDA. The funds support center operations, program
development and grants for programming throughout the region. Information about
the grants program is available on the center website at
http://srmec.uark.edu.
There is additional financial assistance for the center to provide technical
assistance to producers adversely affected by import competition.
"Hosting the center provides us with a tremendous opportunity to bring
additional strengths to the research-based recommendations we currently provide
to our clientele," said Dr. Milo Shult, vice president of the University of
Arkansas Division of Agriculture.
The other three centers are The Northeast Center for Risk Management
Education, University of Delaware Cooperative Extension; Western Center for Risk
Management Education, Washington State University Cooperative Extension; and The
North Central Risk Management Education Center, University of Nebraska - Lincoln
Extension. There is a national center for risk management that houses the
digital library and coordinates the Trade Adjustment Assistance activities The
Digital Center for Risk Management Education is operated by the University of
Minnesota Extension Ag Risk Education Library.
The Cooperative Extension Service is part of the University of Arkansas
Division of Agriculture and offers its programs to all eligible persons
regardless of race, color, national origin, religion, gender, age, disability,
marital or veteran status, or any other legally protected status, and is an
Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer.
November 20, 2009
Media Contact: Elizabeth Fortune
Extension Communications Specialist
U of A Division of Agriculture
Cooperative Extension Service
(501) 671-2120
efortune@uaex.edu
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