January 04, 2008

CURTIS, Neb. — The Nebraska College of Technical Agriculture at Curtis will host a seminar on its 100-Cow Program at 3:30 p.m. Jan. 15 at NCTA's Veterinary Teaching Hospital Amphitheater.

"The program, a partnership between the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Farm Service Agency, the Nebraska Department of Agriculture, the Nebraska Cattlemen and the Nebraska Farm Bureau, is designed to return NCTA graduates to ranches and rural communities with 100 cows," said NCTA Dean Weldon Sleight.

Since 1974, Nebraska has lost almost 17,000 ranches, 287,000 cows and a substantial number of residents in many rural communities, Sleight said. Today, 40 percent of Nebraska communities maintain a population of 300 or less. One of the major reasons for the population losses is the inability of rural communities to attract young people back to agricultural enterprises.

"For years, we have held seminars to teach farmers and ranchers the mechanics of transferring agricultural enterprises from one generation to the next with only marginal success," Sleight said. "We have now designed a program that will return our graduates to ranches with a sizable enough asset to ensure they can be partners rather than hired hands. This will create a career path enabling these young ranchers to one day become owners of sustainable cattle operations."

Currently, there are twice as many farmers over the age of 65 than there are under the age of 35, and during the next 20 years, 70 percent of all agricultural land in the U.S. will change hands, he said.

"The greatest problem and opportunity lays in the agriculture industry's ability to develop enough young people to take over the Nebraska ranching operations during the next 20 years," he said. "If we fail, rural communities will continue to lose residents as absentee owners buy up ranches throughout Nebraska."

The NCTA curriculum has been changed to help students better understand entrepreneurial principles and their application in beef production management.

"This type of education, coupled with beef cattle research being conducted at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln's Gudmundsen Sandhills Laboratory, will give NCTA graduates the cutting edge information needed to be successful in beef cattle production," Sleight said.

The 100-Cow Program also covers the financial aspects of herd ownership.

"The USDA Farm Service Agency will provide NCTA students with low interest loans to purchase the cows. This financial support is absolutely necessary to make the program viable," he said.

The Nebraska Department of Agriculture Beginning Farmer program, the Nebraska Cattlemen, and the Nebraska Farm Bureau organizations have pledged their support, so the final step in the process is to identify ranchers who will make a place for the NCTA graduates and their 100 cows, Sleight said.

These cows can be new cows or cows purchased from ranchers wanting to give young people an opportunity to enter a ranching career.

Jay Wolf, a cattle producer in Albion and former president of the Nebraska Cattlemen, is excited about the program, emphasizing that the Nebraska Cattlemen group strongly endorses the program.

"The program will serve as a model for the rest of the country. The most beneficial aspect for students is that the Farm Service Agency financing, coupled with the coursework and field experience at NCTA, allows them to become equity owners who have experience developing a business plan," Wolf said. "Too often, young people become good cow-calf operators but only as hired employees."

NCTA officials encourage interested ranchers as well as Nebraska bankers, FSA directors, county extension educators, high school agriculture teachers, community leaders and others concerned about the future of Nebraska's rural communities to attend the seminar.

In addition, young farmers and ranchers who don't currently own a ranching enterprise also are invited because NCTA is now developing an outreach program that will allow young farmers and ranchers unable to attend NCTA to receive the education needed to participate in the program.

The Nebraska College of Technical Agriculture, in cooperation with its sister institution, the West Central Research and Extension Center at North Platte, have a long tradition of serving the Nebraska agriculture industry. NCTA is dedicated to providing its students with a dynamic education in agriculture and an understanding of important economic factors that are important to rural Nebraska’s future.

1/4/08-TH/SK

Contacts:

Tina M. Henderson
Nebraska College of Technical Agriculture
Director of Communication Services
(402) 421-4446, (800) 742-4016, Ext. 4446

Weldon Sleight - Ph.D.
Nebraska College of Technical Agriculture
Dean
(308) 367-5200

Sandi Alswager Karstens
IANR News and Photography
(402) 472-3030

Department:
Nebraska College of Technical Agriculture at Curtis