1. Abstract Materials and Methods Acknowledgements SURVIVING THE RISK: A look at lease agreements, budgets, communication and much more! Jennifer Rhodes, Shannon Dill, John Hall Extension Educators, Agriculture & Natural Resources Delmarva is known as the corn belt of the East Coast. Large commercial grain farms have formed over the years to feed Delmarva’s large poultry industry. In October of 2006 the feed grains commodities began an uptrend in price, which was driven by increased demand of corn for the ethanol industry and uncontrolled influx of hedge fund into the commodities market. Grain prices have since decreased sharply due to the downturn in the stock market causing many farmers to reevaluate their budgets, rental agreements and marketing plans. A regional Extension program was designed to provide the tools and resources for farms experiencing this price squeeze. “Surviving the Risk: a look at lease agreements, budgets, communication and more” was developed to address the current volatility and price margins of agricultural producers. It began in December of 2008, directed at 15 rural business providers including banks, lenders and advisors. In 2009 these programs were conducted for 45 farmers. Excel spreadsheet budgets, curriculum from Ag Decision Maker (University of Iowa) and Winning the Game (University of Minnesota) were utilized. Also incorporated were new and innovative tactics such as a farm newsletter and resume to foster landowner and tenant relations. As a result of the workshops, participant intentions include: 81% creating crop budgets, 77% increasing communication with landlord and 92% having new resources. In follow up evaluations, two attendees have created a resume and sent it to 5 landowners. This regional Extension program addresses timely topics affecting the profitability of our family farms. Results Website This series of workshops started by educating agricultural loan specialist from local banks, farm credit and the farm service agency. Topics covered included crop budgets, custom rates, grain marketing basics, landlord- tenant relationships, crop insurance, new farm bill programs, lease agreements, and an introduction to flexible leases. The loan specialists were asked to send their customers to the next series of meetings. These meetings were held in three locations on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. An informational workbook was put together as a resource for the attendees. The workbook included all presentations along with a new custom rate chart, soil types productivity table, examples of a farmer newsletter and resume, copies of sample lease agreements, list of resourceful websites and a section on leasing your farm for hunting. All information was also posted on the Maryland Grain Marketing website, so information could also be downloaded for easier use. From this series of workshops a need was discovered to teach farmers the basics of excel. Two weeks later, an interactive educational program was offered that taught the basics of using spreadsheets and each participant received a 2G memory stick with a folder of functional farm spreadsheets. www.mdgrainmarketing.umd.edu It is the policy of the Maryland Cooperative Extension that no person shall be subjected to discrimination on the grounds of race, color, gender, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, age, marital or parental status, or disability. Impacts