Crop Insurance Today February 2018 - 17

South Carolina State University to teach a series
of workshops on marketing to limited-resource
and socially disadvantaged farmers in the Strike
Force counties in the Carolinas. The objective
was to help farmers and ranchers understand
their risk exposure and develop marketing plans
and strategies for their farms. The training consisted of a series of three workshops and 60 hours
of individualized instruction. NCIS conducted
the workshops in Clinton and Lumberton, N.C.,
and Bowman, S.C., once a month in May, June,
and July. During these workshops, each participant was instructed in how to use the business
planning approach to evaluate their risk exposure
and was introduced to the five decision variables
that compose the "marketing mix"-product,
price, place, promotion, and people. Participants
were give a homework assignment to complete
before the next workshops. Funding for the project was from a competitively awarded Cooperative Agreement with RMA. Laurence Crane was
project director and primary instructor of this
activity.

Marketing Risk ManagementArkansas Planning Session
NCIS is partnering with extension educators at the University of Arkansas - Pine Bluff
(UAPB) in 2018 to teach a series of workshops
to historically under-served farmers in Arkansas
enabling them to manage their marketing risks.
The objective is to help farmers and ranchers
understand their risk exposure, determine their
costs of production, and develop marketing
plans for their farms. Laurence Crane conducted
a planning and orientation session in October
with extension educators who will be involved
in the project. The project will consist of a series
of workshops and 60 hours of individualized instruction beginning in the Spring of 2018. This
project is the result of a competitive proposal
prepared by NCIS and selected by the Southern
Extension Risk Management Education Center's
(SERMEC) Advisory Council for funding. The
SERMEC, operated by the University of Arkansas, is funded by USDA's National Institute of
Food and Agriculture (NIFA).

1890 Scholarship Recipients
NCIS annually awards scholarships to students majoring in an agricultural discipline
and enrolled at a 1980 Land-Grant University.
In 2017, three worthy students were selected to
receive scholarships. The recipients are Terynn,
Riles, majoring in Regulatory Science-Envi-

The room was full of company underwriters and trainers at the November NCIS Train the Trainer
Conference.

ronmental Biology at the University of Arkansas-Pine Bluff; Chanelle Quinn, majoring in
Animal Science at Lincoln University in Jefferson
City, MO; and, Tatayana Kennedy, majoring in
Environmental Science at Alabama A&M University in Huntsville. The purpose of this scholarship program is to enable deserving students to
further their education and to expose them to the
crop insurance business.

Oklahoma Black Farmers
Association Small Farm
Conference
The Oklahoma Black Farmers Association
held its 19th Annual Small Farm Conference
in Oklahoma City, in mid-November. Several
USDA agencies were in attendance, including the
Oklahoma City RMA Regional Office who discussed written agreements with the group. NCIS
was a sponsor for the event that drew 100 farmers
and professionals. Laurence Crane attended and
delivered a presentation on using crop insurance
to help manage risk and protect revenue. He
also introduced the risk management education
workshops he is conducting in Oklahoma.

Professional Agricultural
Workers' Conference
NCIS co-sponsored the 75th Professional Agricultural Workers' Conference (PAWC) at Tuskegee University in early December. Laurence Crane
spoke to the 450 conference participants and provided information on using crop insurance to effectively manage risk. The PAWC began in 1942
mainly with Tuskegee University and local and
state support and participation. It is now international in scope including representatives from several African countries, the national land grant community, and state, Federal, and private sectors. Its
mission is to enhance the skills and contributions
of agricultural and related professionals involved
in discovery, dissemination and use of emerging
technologies, information, problem solving, policy
formation, and strategy development for the advancement of people and communities.

Awards and Publications

NCIS is proud of the work of the entire NCIS
staff. Each year, staff strives to provide the best
product, data analysis, insight, and counsel for
our membership. Sometimes, the excellent work
of NCIS is recognized outside of the industry,
and we are happy to share a few of those accolades with you below.

NCIS Outreach Activities
Recognized
At the Extension Risk Management Education National Conference in Cincinnati, Ohio,
Laurence Crane received an "Outstanding Outreach Award" from the Southern Extension Risk
Management Education Center (SERMEC). The
risk management education project, directed by
Laurence in South Carolina that helps limited-resource and socially disadvantaged farmers develop personal risk management plans, was one of
three projects selected for recognition. The NCIS
project was selected by the Center's Advisory
Council for recognition because the project: 1)
effectively reached and immediately helped limited-resource famers; 2) used innovative teaching
methods; and, 3) has the potential for long-term
positive impacts for the target audience. The
SERMEC, operated by the University of Arkansas
Division of Agriculture, is funded by USDA's National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA).

NCIS Recognized for LimitedResource and Socially
Disadvantaged Producers Project
The Southern Risk Management Education
Center (SRMEC) designated the NCIS 2014-15
project, "Developing Personal Risk Management Plans for Limited-Resource and Socially
Disadvantaged Producers in South Carolina"
as one of its top projects. This project was under the direction of Laurence Crane. Ronald
Rainey, SRMEC Center Director, and Erica
Fields, SRMEC Project Manager, had this to say
about the project: "Your project distinguished
itself among the other outreach efforts because
CROPINSURANCE TODAY®

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Crop Insurance Today February 2018