Technical assistance pays long-term benefits to producers

Wednesday, January 19, 2005

Special to the Daily Mail

While the promise of financial aid in the form of cash benefits is often the major attraction of the US Department of Agriculture's Trade Adjustment Assistance Program, in the end, it is the technical training elements that provide the greatest overall benefits, users say.

Farmers, fishermen and other producers of raw agricultural and seafood commodities impacted by foreign imports of competing products have until Jan. 31 to petition the USDA if they hope to take advantage of the technical training benefits and even potentially qualify for financial relief.

"The technical training benefits available through TAA are designed to help producers and fishermen improve productivity and explore additional commodities, marketing opportunities, and alternative enterprises," says USDA trade adjustment assistance coordinator Jean-Louis Pajot.

The program is designed to provide financial relief, technical support, retraining services and even a potential outreach strategy for producers who suffered from a 20 percent or greater decline in producer prices due to competing imports.

"All eligible producers receive technical training and may receive cash benefits up to $10,000, depending on the amount of production marketed and if they meet certain income criteria."

According to Pajot, the cash benefits available through the program are what initially attract producers, but at the end of the day, the training system winds up yielding the greatest results.

"Here in Maine, we created an educational program designed to help wild blueberry producers evaluate their cropping practices, become educated on ways to improve their efficiencies and develop alternative strategies to keep their operations economically viable," said Dave Yarborough, blueberry specialist and professor of horticulture at the University of Maine, one of several dozen cooperative extension services responsible for providing the technical training.

"Working under the direction of the Northeast Center for Risk Management Education at the University of Delaware, we developed power point presentations on 'World Trade Situation and Outlook,' 'Enterprise Budgets,' 'Production Efficiencies,' 'Improving Quality,' and 'Marketing Opportunities.' These were combined with business and financial presentations developed by the University of Minnesota and presented as a Web-based course and a 120-page printed 'Wild Blueberry Technical Assistance Curriculum,' available online through the USDA.

"Furthermore, six members of the University of Maine Cooperative Extension county faculty assisted the blueberry specialist in presenting this program to Maine growers. This training has provided Maine's wild blueberry growers the educational resources to produce a crop that will be competitive with Canadian wild blueberries and cultivated blueberries produced in North America."

Across the country, the University of Alaska Marine Advisory Program created a similar curriculum to aid Alaska fishermen who also qualified for benefits under TAA. Torie Baker, an assistant professor of the School of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences, Marine Advisory Program, University of Alaska-Fairbanks, played the dual role of training coordinator and program beneficiary.

Owner of her own small fishing operation, Baker coordinated more than 300 statewide workshops that trained more than 4,300 fishermen and crew within a five-month period. Information such as access to new loan programs, marketing grant information, alternative training opportunities and direct marketing strategies and materials comprised much of the information.

Nearly all workshop evaluations deemed the information "extremely valuable."

"Once a particular industry has qualified for TAA assistance, the technical training program is mandatory before they become eligible for cash benefits," Baker said. "After completing the training, applicants who receive a cash benefit are eligible to apply for benefits through the US Department of Labor's Employment and Training Administration program."

Department of Labor benefits, according to USDA personnel, may also include education grants and training designed to facilitate a producer's departure from farming or fishing.

If a producer does, in fact, qualify, the cash benefits also help. "I was extremely fortunate," Baker said. "In 2002, I caught a lot of low-valued fish, and the cash benefit is based on poundage. As a result, I paid for half of my boat loan payment for this year with the financial benefits I received through TAA. That helped a lot!"

Producers interested in formally petitioning to USDA's Trade Adjustment Assistance program must complete their paperwork and send, via fax, prior to January 31 to the USDA headquarter in Washington at (202) 720-0876.

They may also be sent via e-mail. Petition forms are available online at www.fas.usda.gov/itp/aa/

FAS0930.pdf. They may also be requested by phone at (202) 720-2916 or by e-mail at trade.adjustment@fas.usda.gov.

Petitions must be filed by a group of three or more producers or an authorized representative, and they may be made on behalf of a state, region or the nation as a whole.

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