A number of Extension educational and
research efforts have been underway to assist
farm families facing severe financial crises.
These programs have been multi-disciplinary and
have involved state, district, and county faculty
working jointly with farm families who have their
backs to the wall.
Much of the Extension
program was directed to the CES Farm Program,
which involved one-on-one consultation with farm
families.
In addition, workshops were planned
utilizing the FINPACK computer program to assist
farm families needing a better understanding of
their financial picture and possible alternatives
available to them.
The CES Farm Program has been
given much acclaim and, as a result of the
initial success of the program, tbt state
legislature in Ohio appropriated funds primarily
for what is known as a "credit mediation
division" as a part of a Farm Financial
Management Institute.
The Farm Financial
Management Institute has conducted three
workshops which train agricultural lenders,
county agents, and vocational agriculture
teachers to assist farmers with better
understanding their financial situation.
"'TENSION FINANCIAL NAMAGEININT MOMS
Major Extension projects began with
inservice training of Extension agents in the
early 1980s.
The coordinated financial statement
was the central focus of the initial farm
financial management program.
It was critical
that county Extension agents be able to aid
farmers in preparation of a balance sheet in
order to assist the farmer in knowing where he
stood.
Use of the coordinated financial
statement was somewhat discouraging; workshops
were held in many counties and attendance was
poor.
Nonetheless, many of the agents did work
individually with a number of farmers as well as
with small groups of farmers in an effort to
help farmers determine their net worth.
In
October 1985, a two-day training session on the
use of the FINLRB component of the FINPACR
computer program was taught to approximately 70
county Agriculture Extension agents.
A two-day
follow-up session in December was held to assist
agents in better understanding the FINFLO and the
FINTRAN.
In addition, several agents who did not
attend the initial FINLRB training were given
specialized training to equip them to work with
farmers on the use of the FINLRB program.
As a
result of this training, a number of counties
developed what is known as the "Managing for the
Future" program.
This involves four all-day
sessions incorporating goals and needs assessment
in addition to the FINPACK program.
County
agents, Agriculture, Home Economics, and CNRD,
at ag with the district specialists, have given
leadership to this training program.
Even with the designated group sessions, it
was determined in February 1985 that additional
efforts to help families facing severe crises
were needed.
As a result, the CES Farm Program
was initiated on March 1, 1985.
A toll-free
hotline was installed at the university, and
publicity was increased to encourage farmers to
contact the local county Extension office for
financial assistance.
"Immediate response" teams
54 Ohio
were organized, consisting of three county
Agriculture agents, one Home Economics agent, and
district specialists in Farm Management, CNRD,
and Home Economics.
Five of these district teams
served the state.
In addition, a state task
force provided leadership to the overall
program.
In the first month of the program there were
398 calls for assistance, of which 286 were to
the hotline.
There were additional calls that
went directly to county agents' offices and were
never reported by some of the counties.
A
computerized program was set up to record all
calls on which either the hotline or the local
Extension office filed a report. These have been
summarized to assist with an evaluation of the
program.
The toll-free hotline was publicized
through a press conference and wide distribution
of a brochure throughout the state.
The
statewide farm organisations were also used to
alert farmers to the opportunity of seeking
financial help through the CES Farm Program.
In
order to assist the immediate response team
members with their county programs, special
funding was provided to these counties to assist
with hiring part-time help to replace the efforts
of the county agents when they were involved with
the CES Farm Program outside of the county.
Due to the success and recognition of the
CBS Farm Program, the state legislature in Ohio
passed what was known as the "State Agricultural
Bill."
It included, among other things, a link
deposit program whereby farmers were provided
credit at approximately 3 percent under the going
interest rate.
The major portion of the bill
which affected the Extension Service was the
establishment of a Farm Financial Management
Institute to provide training for agricultural
lenders, Extension agents, and vocational
agriculture teachers in assisting farmers.
One
provision for the Institute and the Cooperative
Extension Service was to provide credit mediation
on an optional basis for either lenders or
borrowers that requested the voluntary mediation.
A special training program was held to equip
credit mediators for their responsibilities,
since this was a new venture for Extension.
The Rome Economics :gents worked closely
with a number of local agencies in providing
counseling on stress management. A directory of
various agencies available at the local level was
prepared for each county and provided not only to
the immediate response teams but also to all
counties throughout the state.
The agents
working in CNRD provided assistance to
communities by helping them identify some
employment opportunities, potential impact of
farm foreclosures, or other agribustnesses that
may face bankruptcy.
The Ag Law Institute was established at The
Ohio State University. The Institute faculty
were instrumental in helping identify members of
the bar who had experience or were interested In
working with farmers who were facing legal
problems.
Although the Extension Service was not
in a position to recommend any lawyers, we were
able to identify lawyers who expressed interest
in working with farmers on financial-legal
problems.
The Ohio Council of Churches and many
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