Specialty crops risk management webinar series begins January 6
by Olivia Hanlon, FFED extension education specialist
The pandemic provided opportunity for specialty producers in Iowa to expand production and sales. But managing risk for specialty production is critical to capitalizing on new market opportunities.

The FFED Small Farms Team will sponsor a series of free webinars for specialty crop producers Jan. 6—March 10. They will feature new tools and resources on how to manage risk. The webinars will take place on consecutive Wednesdays over the noon hour. Please join us for any or all of the webinars! They will be presented live with time for Q&A, then archived on the Small Farms page.
The 10 sessions will cover various risk management topics, each featuring different speakers. Sign up here for any or all of the webinars.
Dates and topics
Below is a list of dates, topics covered and speakers for each webinar.
Date | Topic | Speaker |
January 6, 2021 | Why is Risk Management Important? & Overview of Risk Management Strategies | Rex Nelson–Associate Extension Educator, University of Nebraska Lincoln Extension |
January 13, 2021 | Crop Insurance Resources and Tools & Types of Insurance Policies and Options for Specialty Crops | Amanda Weigel–Agriculture Program Specialist, Iowa Farm Service Agency |
January 20, 2021 | Whole Farm Revenue Protection | Craig Christianson–Risk Management Specialist, USDA Risk Management Agency |
January 27, 2021 | Risk Management for Perennial Crops | Joe Hannan–Commercial Horticulture Specialist, Iowa State University Extension and Outreach |
February 3, 2021 | Risk Management in Vegetable Crops | Ajay Nair–Extension Vegetable Specialist, Iowa State University Extension and Outreach |
February 10, 2021 | Food Safety on the Farm | Dan Fillius–Food Safety Educator, Iowa State University Extension and Outreach |
February 17, 2021 | Ag Decision Maker Resources and How to Access Them | Ann Johanns–Economics Extension Program Specialist, Iowa State University Extension and Outreach |
February 24, 2021 | Weather Patterns and Management Tools | Justin Glisan–State Climatologist of Iowa, Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship & Joe Hannan – Commercial Horticulture Specialist, Iowa State University Extension and Outreach |
March 3, 2021 | Farm Finance | Craig Chase–Farm, Food and Enterprise Development Program Manager, Iowa State University Extension and Outreach |
March 10, 2021 | Risk Management for Organic Production | Kathleen Delate–Extension Organic Specialist, Iowa State University Extension and Outreach |
Need more information? Contact Olivia Hanlon at ohanlon@iastate.edu.
This material is based upon work supported by USDA-NIFA under Award Number 2018-70027-28586.