URBANA, Ill. — A number of significant challenges to the agricultural sector will be the focus of Farm Income 2007, a workshop to be held in five locations, sponsored by the University of Illinois Extension.

The workshops are Thursday, Dec. 7 at the Crowne Plaza in Springfield; Tuesday, Dec. 12 at the Hickory Grove Banquet and Conference Center in Rochelle; Wednesday, Dec. 13 at the Holiday Inn–Airport in Moline; Tuesday, Dec. 19 at the Holiday Inn in Urbana; and Wednesday, Dec. 20 at the Holiday Inn in Mount Vernon.

“The workshops address decision-making challenges in a risky environment,” said Darrel Good, Illinois Extension marketing specialist. “The program is designed for farm operators and owners, agricultural lenders and managers of farm-related businesses.”

Other sponsors include the University of Illinois Department of Agricultural and Consumer Electronics, the Illinois Farm Business Farm Management Assoc., and the USDA Risk Management Agency. Presenters include Illinois Extension specialists and faculty.

Each workshop includes four general sessions – Outlook for Commodity Prices, Illinois Farm Income Outlook, The 2007 Farm Bill and Biofuels. Four breakout sessions are Impacts of Tillage and Rotations on Machinery Costs; FAST Tools: Planning Beyond 2008; Energy and Agriculture, Legal and Tax Perspectives; and Crop Insurance and Risk Management in the Current Price Environment.

“Volatile crop yields and commodity prices, expanding biofuels production, the changing legal environment, escalating input costs and a changing policy environment provide significant challenges to the agricultural sector,” Good said. “Information provided at these workshops will help those in the sector prepare for and deal with these challenges.”

Each workshop opens at 8:30 a.m. and concludes at 3:45 p.m. Lunch is included. Registration is $50 per person and can be completed online at www.farm doc.uiuc.edu or by obtaining a registration form from an Illinois Extension office. Or write to Sue Esposito, 326 Mumford Hall, 1301 W. Gregory Drive, Urbana, IL 61801. Registration should be completed by Dec. 4.

For more information, call Esposito at 217-333-5506.

This farm news was published in the Nov. 22, 2006 issue of Farm World, serving Indiana, Ohio, Illinois, Kentucky, Michigan and Tennessee.