Farm Pulse: Crop Insurance and Grain Marketing
Farm Pulse: Crop Insurance and Grain Marketing
An online course paired with in-person and virtual meetings for farmers interested in learning the importance of risk management, crop insurance, and grain marketing
Farm Pulse: Crop Insurance, Grain Marketing, and Agricultural Contracts is an online course designed for farmers interested in learning the importance of risk management, crop insurance, grain marketing, and agricultural contracts. This course will help farmers identify production, marketing, and contractual risks in their farm business to assist them in making informed decisions that enhance farm profitability. The course also includes content relevant to women in agriculture and organic farming, providing tailored insights on risk management strategies, insurance options, marketing approaches, and contract considerations specific to these sectors.
What will I learn in this course?
- Recall the economic fundamentals of agricultural production.
- Recognize risk comfort level and describe the risk tolerance level of your farm business.
- Types of insurance products available, and which are most relevant for your farm business.
- Components of a written marketing plan.
- Identify marketing tools available and when each tool might be used.
- Calculate your cost of production.
- Create written risk management, grain marketing, and crop insurance plans.
- Complete a review of previous or current crop insurance products.
- Illustrate your farm’s plan to execute an aspect of the written grain marketing and crop insurance plan.
- How crop insurance and grain marketing support organic farming through risk management, specialized insurance, and market strategies.
- Different financial tools that are available for crop insurance.
Course Overview
Participants will follow a case farm throughout the series of 8 modules; completing hands-on, interactive risk management, crop insurance, and grain marketing activities.
In-person and virtual meetings will be scheduled between January and March to review the course material, discuss with other participants, and apply the information to your farm.
After completing the course, participants will be able to transfer these skills from the case farm to their own farm businesses. Instructors will be available throughout the course to provide technical support and lead in-person meetings.
Course Modules
- Module One: Overview and introduction to the case farm
- Module Two: Risk Management
- Module Three: Risk Capacity & Price Determination
- Module Four: Crop Insurance
- Module Five: Grain Marketing Plan
- Module Six: Grain Marketing Tool Introduction
- Module Seven: Grain Marketing Tools
- Module Eight: Next Steps
Registration
Frequently asked questions about Farm Pulse
How much does this course cost?
The course fee is $119, which includes access to the course materials for one year, from your registration date. You may want to check with your lender to see if they provide reimbursement for borrower education and training programs.
Who should register for this course?
The course is open to anyone involved in agriculture. In particular, farmers or farm managers who are interested in learning the importance of risk management, crop insurance, and grain marketing.
Approximately how long does the course take to complete?
The course is comprised of 8 modules of online learning. The online portion allows you to view instructional materials at any time and will take approximately 10 hours to complete. The course lessons feature short readings and/or videos teaching key concepts. Knowledge checks will feature interactive learning experiences. And each lesson concludes with a short quiz to reiterate the learning objectives for the lesson and provides you with immediate feedback, as opposed to waiting for instructors to grade them. A course outline will be provided to assist you in tracking your progress. Additional time may be spent applying the information to your own farm business.
What materials will I need to complete this online course?
You must have internet access.
Other software that will be used in this course:
- Adobe Reader: Download the latest version of Adobe Reader to view PDF (portable document format) files. Note: Do not select the optional offer for McAfee Security Scan Plus.
- Word Processor, Presentation, and Spreadsheet Software: Choose from the following options:
- Microsoft Office (free for UW-Madison students through Office 365 portal; for PC or Mac)
- Google Docs (free cloud service; web browser-based)
- OpenOffice (free download; for PC or Mac)
Is this online course accessible for people who require special needs or services?
Yes. UW-Madison has specific accessibility requirements regarding online content, both to benefit learners and to comply with the law. We have designed the Farm Pulse online course content to meet those requirements.
For more information, contact:
- Jerome Clark
Crops and Soil Educator, Farm Pulse Project Director
jerome.clark@wisc.edu | (715) 726-7955 - Teal Polzin
Farm Pulse Project Coordinator
teal.polzin@wisc.edu | (715) 726-7950
This material was developed by the University of Wisconsin–Madison Division of Extension in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Agriculture and Wisconsin counties. This material is based upon work supported by USDA/NIFA under Award Number 2023-70027-40444.