CAS' John Mangus and Clif Parker presented risk management and crop insurance information to beginning Delaware producers in two locations on Friday, September 5, 2008.  The presentations were coordinated with local vocational agriculture classes and FFA Program advisors.  Funding for the presentations was provided by the Delaware Department of Agriculture under the USDA/RMA Delaware Targeted States Program.

CAS presented “Crop Insurance Education for Delaware Beginning Producers” using a PowerPoint presentation and an Excel-based risk management/crop insurance simulation tool.  The content focused on basic risk management and crop insurance principles, with all attendees learning how crop insurance can be an important tool for managing agricultural risk.  Attendees were first taught general principles of risk and risk management.  The presenters then explained how crop insurance can be an effective mechanism for transferring away some agricultural production and pricing risks.  Attendees next learned about Federal Crop Insurance Programs available in Delaware, including RMA’s Nursery and AGR-Lite Programs. 

To illustrate the challenges of managing risk and the role of Federal Crop Insurance Programs in agricultural risk management, attendees participated in an interactive learning simulation that illustrated uncertainty and risk in a simulated Delaware nursery operation.  The outcomes of the game varied by student depending on uncontrollable chance and the risks chosen by a given student over a simulated five-year period.

Attending producers’ agricultural experience and interests centered on nursery, livestock, and row crops.  Attendees were generally engaged in the presentation and actively participated in discussions and the simulation.  CAS received positive feedback about the presentation from both the students and from participating student advisors.  Hard-copy crop insurance handouts were made available to all attendees, and CAS also promoted the RMA / FFA Risk Management Essay Contest to the attendees and to the advisors.