Hello,

Please join us for a free eOrganic webinar on April 13, 2010 at 12 pm 
Eastern Time (9 am PT, 10 am MT, 11 am CT) on:

*The Economics of Organic Dairy Farming in New England *with Dr. Bob 
Parsons, University of Vermont

Reserve your Webinar Seat Now at:
https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/204564729

About the Webinar
Over the past ten years, organic dairy production has been the fastest 
growing sector of the U.S. organic market. Spurred by increased demand 
for organic milk, the inventory of certified organic cows increased by 
421 percent between 1997 and 2002. The USDA estimates that organic milk 
increased from two percent of total U.S. fluid milk product sales in 
2006 to three percent in 2008. Little financial research, however, has 
been conducted on organic dairy agriculture. What does the financial 
performance of organic dairy farming in New England look like, 
particularly in an economy where organic feed prices and fuel prices are 
high and where today's economic crisis is putting tremendous financial 
strain on all dairy farms, including organic dairies? University of 
Vermont agricultural economist Bob Parsons will address the economics of 
organic dairy farming in New England, based on 5 years of farm financial 
data.

About Bob Parsons
Dr. Robert Parsons is an agricultural economist in the Department of 
Community Development and Applied Economics at the University of 
Vermont. He received his MS in Agricultural Economics and Operations 
Research from Penn State University in 1987 and his PhD in Agricultural 
Economics from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in 
1995. Bob joined the University of Vermont in 2000 with an Extension and 
research appointment where he has conducted numerous educational 
programs on business management, farm business succession, dairy 
economics, ag labor management, and risk management. In addition, he 
teaches undergraduate courses, including ag policy. In 2004, Bob and a 
research team from Vermont and Maine received a grant from USDA CSREES 
to conduct the project, "Profitability and Transitional Analysis of New 
England Organic Dairy Farms." His presentation draws on that research 
and subsequent data he has collected on the area's organic dairy farms.

About eOrganic
The eOrganic eXtension website at 
http:www.extension.org/organic_production is for farmers, ranchers, 
agricultural professionals, certifiers, researchers and educators 
seeking reliable information on organic agriculture, published research 
results, farmer experiences, and certification. Our current content is 
focused on general organic agriculture, dairy production, and vegetable 
production. The content is collaboratively authored and reviewed by our 
community of University researchers and Extension personnel, 
agricultural professionals, farmers, and certifiers with experience and 
expertise in organic agriculture.

Title: The Economics of Dairy Farming in New England Webinar from eOrganic
Date: Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Time: 12PM-1:15 PM EDT
 
System Requirements
PC-based attendees
Required: Windows® 2000, XP Home, XP Pro, 2003 Server, Vista
Macintosh®-based attendees
Required: Mac OS® X 10.4 (Tiger®) or newer
 
***
Deb Heleba
eOrganic Staff, Dairy Team and Membership
University of Vermont Extension
103 Hills Building
Burlington, VT  05405
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