UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- Pennsylvania dairy farmers tired of riding the roller coaster of volatile milk prices can learn to lock in profitable milk prices by attending a workshop offered by a dairy futures brokerage firm and Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences.

This two-day program, held Oct. 6 near Manheim in Lancaster County and Oct. 7 at Grantville in Dauphin County, is designed to help dairy farmers learn to use futures contracts at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. "This program is a must for anyone that wants to remain profitable in the dairy industry of the future," says Ken Bailey, associate professor of dairy markets and policy in Penn State's department of agricultural economics and rural sociology. "It's a useful skill to have."

Mike Downes and Jeff DeGrand of Downes-O'Neill LLC will discuss how dairy farmers and processors can take advantage of dairy futures trading. Downes, a former dairy farmer, is an early pioneer in dairy futures trading and has a wealth of experience. His company's brokers, with more than 75 years of combined industry experience, trade more dairy futures and options than any other brokerage group.

Also speaking at the workshop will be Bailey and David Dowler, farm management/dairy agent for Penn State Cooperative Extension in Crawford County. The first day of the program is an evening session from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. on Oct. 6. It will be held at Acorn Farms at the intersection of Rts. 283 and 772 between Manheim and Mt. Joy. The staff from Downes-O'Neill will introduce the concepts of risk management, the relationship between cheese prices and Class III milk prices, background on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, and how dairy farmers and processors lock in their milk prices.

"This program is an introduction to risk management designed for those producers who can't take an entire day out of their busy farm schedule," says Bailey, who will give a brief introduction on recent changes in the milk market in the northeastern United States. "Producers can elect whether they want the evening program or the more intensive workshop on day two."

To register for the first day, call Deb Seibert at the Manheim High School agricultural department at (717) 665-3065 or Dan Gard of Monsanto Dairy Business at (717) 653-0614. Cost is $5 for members of the Manheim Young Farmers Association and $10 for non-members.

The second day's program will be from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. on Oct. 7 at the Holiday Inn in Grantville. "This is a more intensive workshop that will teach the basics of how your milk check is determined, the importance of cost of production, how cheese prices affect Class III milk prices, mechanics of dairy futures and the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, and strategies used to forward-price milk," Bailey says. "It also will provide specific training on how to compute your basis and how to work with a commodity broker."

Contact Jane Mease or Barb Gervinski at Penn State at 814-865-0469 to register for the second day's workshop. The cost is $40 per person.

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EDITORS: Contact Ken Bailey at 814-863-8649 or by e-mail at baileyk@psu.edu.

Contact:

Gary Abdullah gxa2@psu.edu 814-863-2708 814-863-9877 fax #244