摘要：Good afternoon! I appreciate the opportunity to be with you today. In the time I have allotted I would like to share with you some of the responses I have seen to the low commodity prices and some possibilities that I am recommending to Iowa farmers. I am an Extension Economist in farm management at Iowa State University. The examples that I will use come from Iowa. However, I think that they will be similar to the situations and responses seen in other Midwestern states. One of my jobs for ISU Extension is coordinating the Farm Financial Management Program which started in Iowa in 1983 as a response to the farm financial crisis that was occurring at that time. We have kept the program active and today it represents one of ISU's primary responses to the current farm financial situation. The Farm Financial Planning Program consists of trained Extension associates who work one-on-one with individual farm families and use the computer program FINPACK. However, the Farm Financial Planning Program is more than a simple computer analysis of the farm finances. The associates are also trained to work with the families in helping to identify alternatives, seek out other sources of information and help and, in general, provide a neutral third party to work with the farm family.
