A team of Iowa State University (ISU) Extension staff is developing risk management strategies for the state’s struggling livestock producers.

Those strategies will be presented by the Iowa Pork Industry Center (IPIC) and Iowa Beef Center (IBC) in a webcast from 7 to 9 p.m. Feb. 16. Producers can view the webcast from a home computer or at any of the participating Iowa county Extension offices.

ISU speakers include: Chad Hart, grain economist; John Patience, swine nutritionist; Dan Loy, beef nutritionist; and John Lawrence, livestock economist.
IPIC director John Mabry says the program provides timely information.

“They’ll talk about feed cost risks, cover strategies for managing feed costs and the role of alternative feedstuffs,” Mabry says. “They also will discuss outlook for feed and livestock, and strategies for managing price risk using futures, options and insurance products.”

The webcast is free but those who want to attend at a county ISU Extension office need to preregister by Feb. 13. These host sites will have additional discussion and activities during the webcast.

Producers can access the program on their home computers starting at 7 p.m. by logging onto  http://connect.extension.iastate.edu/outlook.
For more information on the webcast, contact your county Extension office or IPIC at (515) 294-4103.