LINCOLN, Neb. – Two University of Nebraska Extension educators were recently recognized nationally for their outstanding agricultural risk management education efforts. Jim Jansen, an Extension economist stationed in Concord, and Allan Vyhnalek, a farm and ranch succession educator in Lincoln, were named the winners of the 2020 Outstanding Project Award for the North Central Region of the United States by the Extension Risk Management Education Program.

The ERME program, supported by the United States Department of Agriculture National Institute of Food and Agriculture, provides competitive grants that fund education projects focused on helping farmers and ranchers successfully manage the unique risks associated with production agriculture. The goal is to strengthen the economic viability of agribusinesses.

Jansen and Vyhnalek were honored for their outstanding work and accomplishments on a project entitled “So You’ve Inherited a Farm, Now What?” The project provided education on the financial, human and legal risks associated with farm transition and helped impact participants ranging from off-farm heirs to multi-generation farm family operations to ag professionals working closely with producers on farm transition issues.

They were to have received their awards and presented information on their project during an educational session at the 2020 ERME National Conference in early April, which unfortunately was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Other regional winners included Elizabeth Higgins, Cornell University for the Northeast Region; Laurence Crane, National Crop Insurance Services for the Southern Region; and Natalia Pinzon Jimenez, Multinational Exchange for Sustainable Agriculture, Inc. for the Western Region. The awards were based on the accomplishments of projects delivered during the 2017-2018 grant cycle and documented in online reports available at http://extensionrme.org/.

As part of the award, an impact story on the project is available at https://ncerme.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/North-Central-2020-Outstanding-Project-Jansen-and-Vyhnalek.pdf or https://go.unl.edu/bhuh. A separate story on the project is available at https://ncerme.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Success-Story-Nebraska-2017-2019.pdf or https://go.unl.edu/60az.

Agricultural risk management involves selecting tools and approaches that reduce the adverse effects of the uncertainties of weather, yields, prices, credit, government policies, global markets and other factors, including human resource and legal issues, that can cause wide swings in farm income or threaten the economic viability of a farm or ranch.

The national ERME Competitive Grants Program is conducted annually by the four regional ERME Centers. Eligible entities include any public or private organization with a demonstrated capacity to develop and deliver results/outcome-based risk management education to agricultural producers and their families. The 2021 request for applications will be issued in mid-September, with applications due mid-November. For more information, please visit http://www.extensionrme.org.

The mission of the Extension Risk Management Education Program is “educating America’s farmers and ranchers to manage the unique risks of producing food for the world’s table.”