Farm policy expert to speak Feb. 19 in Sioux Falls

A national farm policy expert will be one of three speakers during an agricultural seminar Tuesday at the Sioux Falls Convention Center.
Jim Wiesemeyer of Informa Economics in Washington, D.C. will open the conference at 9 a.m. His presentation will be followed by Tim Hoffmann of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Risk Management Agency and Jeff Hamlin of The Climate Corporation. The GrowingOn 2013 event, which will run from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., is sponsored by the South Dakota Corn Growers Association and the Risk Management Agency. The event is free. To register, visit sdcorn.org or call 605-334-0100.
Wiesemeyer will discuss agricultural policy, development of a new farm bill and trade developments. Since 1978, he has reported on government, policy and trade. Before joining Informa Economics, he was the Washington editor and bureau chief for ProFarmer Inc. He continues to write a “Washington Today” column.
Hoffmann, a native of Alexandria, S.D., is director of the product administration and standards division of the RMA in Kansas City, Mo. His presentation will focus on crop insurance and other RMA programs. Hoffmann oversees the development, modification and maintenance of RMA policies, regulations and standards.
Hamlin leads The Climate Corporation’s agricultural risk products group. He is a leading authority on custom structures for managing weather risks. His session will provide an overview of how weather insurance products work and how they complement federal crop insurance. He will also introduce Climate.com, a new, free field-monitoring tool that allows growers to track project yields and weather in their fields.