AMES, Iowa -- “The increasing cost of machinery and decreasing amount of skilled farm labor available in Iowa is prompting producers to take another look at sharing arrangements in an effort to remain efficient," said Frayne Olson, economist, Iowa State University (ISU) Extension. “Our Machinery and Labor Sharing Arrangement Workshop looks at this old idea in a new way.”
Olson said the program is built around 10 case studies of real-life sharing agreements that use a wide range of structures. “Those attending the workshop will walk out with a better understanding of what our research found to be common to all successful sharing agreements and several ideas on how to approach establishing an agreement for their operation,” he said.
The program will be offered at several locations around the state over the next several weeks. It will address:
• Benefits and drawbacks of sharing equipment and labor
• Planning for sharing resources
• Organizational issues associated with equipment and labor sharing
• Available resources for implementing sharing arrangements
To register contact the ISU Extension county office listed below for the workshop you would like to attend. More information about the program can be found online at: www.machinerysharing.info.
Feb. 5, Sheldon, Osceola County Extension, (712) 754-3648
Feb. 6, Cherokee, Cherokee County Extension, (712) 225-6196
Feb. 11, Shenandoah, Page County Extension, (877) 596-7243
Feb. 13 & 21,* Maquoketa, Jim Jensen, (319) 385-8126
Feb. 15, Conrad, Grundy County Extension, (319) 824-6979
Feb. 18, Charles City, Fred Hall, (641) 394-2174
Feb. 19, Postville, Fred Hall, (641) 394-2174
Feb. 26, Harlan, Shelby County Extension, (712) 755-3104
Feb. 27, Carroll, Carroll County Extension, (712) 792-2364
March 5, Atlantic, Cass County Extension, (712) 243-1132
*The Maquoketa program will be provided during two evening sessions.
This program is sponsored by the USDA Rural Development, North Central Risk Management Education Center, Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture, ISU Iowa Alliance for Cooperative Business Development and ISU Extension. The Iowa Farm Bureau Federation and Grundy National Bank are program collaborators.
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