Risk Management Profiles
 

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Riff Brothers Farms Multi-peril Insurance
Big Horn County Sugar Beet Growers
Bell Livestock Price Risk
RI-PRF Pilot Insurance for Z-F

Managing Price Risk on Z-F Ranch
Gates Creek L&L Hay and Forage Risk
Big Country Farms Wheat Risk Management




Riff Brothers Farms minimizes financial
loss with multi-peril crop insurance


   Big Horn County farmers Ken and Rich Riff of Riff Brothers Farms manage 600 acres of dry beans, sugar beets, and barley. Commodity prices are high, and the coming production season has the potential for those prices to hold into the fall. Input prices are at or near historical highs and the Riffs are looking to guarantee a certain revenue level to protect their bottom line. Big Horn County is recovering from a recent drought, and the Riffs are concerned severe weather may return.

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Big Horn County sugar beet growers look
to manage production risk


   Big Horn County farmers Ken and Rich Riff own Riff Brothers Farms -- 600 acres of dry beans, sugar beets, and barley (usually 200 acres of each). They are particularly worried about production risk with their sugar beet acres this spring. Last fall and winter were extremely dry with mild temperatures, so the brothers know that soil moisture is low. Their beets may require irrigation to germinate or they may need replanting.

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Insurance options help Bell Livestock
manage price risk


   Carbon County's Bell Livestock runs 300 cow-calf pairs and, for the last four years, has retained ownership of its steer calves. Owners Norm and Belinda Bell plan to do the same this year with their 155 steers at a central Nebraska feedlot. Because of the southern drought, the Bells are concerned that volatility in fat cattle and feed prices may affect profitability.

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RI-PRF pilot insurance
minimizes feed risk for Z-F


   Early fall 2010 on the Z-F Ranch found owners Bob and Betsy Zomer assessing risk management strategies for their cow-calf and yearling operation. The Zomers are situated on 12,000 acres of pasture and 200 acres of native hay in Fremont County. Both husband and wife were concerned about the coming production year. This year's late summer and early fall had been dry, and they were worried it would carry over into next year.

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Managing price risk
on the Z-F Ranch


   Nestled in the heart of Fremont County, the Z-F Ranch runs 300 pairs and 150 yearling steers. From these numbers, owners Bob and Betsy Zomer typically sell 100 head of 500-pound heifer calves and 150 head of 900-pound yearling steers every fall. Although pleased with last year's near record prices, the Zomers wanted to ensure or lock-in the record cattle prices this year.

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Gates Creek Land and Livestock compares risk
management options for hay and forages


   Platte County producers John and Marcia Smith own Gates Creek Land and Livestock, a 100-head commercial cow herd operation with 250 irrigated acres. The Smiths primarily use the irrigated acreage to provide feed for their cow-calf enterprise with 150 acres of alfalfa and 100 acres in corn for both grain and silage. Recent high hay prices have the Smiths considering cutting the corn acreage to 50 acres for silage and seeding the other 50 acres to alfalfa. Due to rising input prices, the Smiths are concerned their bottom line is not well-protected against the unexpected.

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Big Country Farms ponders
risk management strategies


   Big Country Farms, operated by John and Jen Colpher, is a dryland wheat farm with some irrigated wheat and dryland sunflower acreage. Hail and drought are the couple's primary risk management concerns, but they are also concerned with volatile commodity markets. Although they have experienced severe drought on and off for eight years, it is just now beginning to affect irrigation water. The risks associated with large swings in wheat prices have also created increased anxiety regarding their current level of risk protection.
  

 

SPONSORS:

USDA Risk Management Agency (RMA),
Wyoming Farm Bureau Federation, Wyoming Farm Bureau Foundation, Wyoming Wheat Growers, Wyoming Crop Improvement Association and UW-Cooperative Extension Service Profitable and Sustainable Agriculture Initiative

 

 

 

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