Awards issued prior to january 20, 2025, were funded under previous administrations and may not reflect the priorities and policies of the current administration.** the southern risk management…

Awards issued prior to january 20, 2025, were funded under previous administrations and may not reflect the priorities and policies of the current administration.** the southern risk management education center (SRMEC) at the university of arkansas cooperative extension service leverages expertise from the center's faculty and diverse advisory council as well as relationships across the region to help farmers and ranchers make informed risk management decisions. The center's mission is to empower the strengths and skills of individuals in the southern region who are involved in the management of agricultural production, marketing, financial, legal, and human resource risks. SRMEC strives to improve producers' ability to manage risk and increase farm/ranch profitability by delivering programs designed to change risk management behavior among key producer populations. Our goal is to increase prosperity by delivering educational projects that strengthen economic viability of farmers and ranchers. This proposal seeks to build on the successes of our previous grant's foundational activities – risk colloquia and risk coordinators – by expanding outreach and capacity through stronger partnerships, resource development and enhanced social media engagement. For the proposal period, SRMEC plans to conduct the following activities annually:support the southern extension committee primary planning and outreach efforts – summer committee meeting and southern region outlook conference – and host committee resources on our center's website.organize a train-the-trainer with southern business crop insurance representatives to address continuing educational needs for the sector and build relationships with insurance industry stakeholders and technical assistance providers.partner with national crop insurance services (NCIS) to build relationships with 1890 outreach faculty and industry as well as gather stakeholder feedback on insurance products focusing on enhancing socially disadvantaged farmer service and knowledge of insurance products.host a symposium annually at the southern extension economics association annual meeting that highlights projects demonstrating excellence in outreach, risk management education and extension scholarship.collaborate with ERME centers to maintain a vibrant and impactful national program and offer national ERME conference.SRMEC's primary purpose will continue to be successful management of the extension risk management education (ERME) competitive grants program and outreach activities. Our activities will continue to be relevant, grass-roots efforts relying upon guidance from our diverse advisory council and stakeholder engagements. The center has intentionally aligned itself with public and private agricultural stakeholders from across the region and nationally. SRMEC delivers programs using face-to-face trainings, displays, presentations, webinars and social media efforts.SRMEC provides grant recipients guidance each year to formulate appropriate criteria for critical evaluation of their project activities. Prior to funding approval applicants must identify specific meas, ures on project impacts/outcomes detailing what participants will accomplish. SRMEC continues to seek quantitative measures to gauge our success not by numbers of program participants, but by producer changes in risk management strategies and behavior. Our evaluation processes continue to push the envelope incorporating theory of change philosophy into our evaluation expectations and processes. We are leading discussions about the rationale and/or pre-conditions that projects can seek to capture to allow evaluations to more effectively capture longer term impacts and success stories.