The sixth Farm Income 2006 Workshop is scheduled for the Holiday Inn in Urbana on Tuesday, December 19. This year's theme is "A Workshop Addressing Decision-Making Challenges in a Risky Environment". The workshops will be held from December 8 through 20 at Springfield, Rochelle, Moline, Urbana, and Mt. Vernon. Co-sponsors for the workshop are the University of Illinois Department of Agricultural and Consumer Economics, the Illinois Farm Business Farm Management (FBFM) Association, and USDA Risk Management Agency.

Darrel Good, U of I Extension Marketing Specialist, recently said, "This is a continuation of a series we've offered for the past five years. University of Illinois Extension specialists and faculty will lead sessions on things producers can do to increase their competitiveness in today's challenging environment." Each workshop begins at 8:30 a.m. and adjourns at 3:45 p.m. General sessions will cover an outlook for commodity prices by Darrel Good, Illinois farm income outlook by Dale Lattz, and a run-up to the 2007 Farm Bill by Robert Thompson.

At 10:30 a.m. and 1:15 p.m., participants may choose to attend two of four break-out sessions:

1) "The Nitty Gritty of Calculating Your Production Costs" is a hands-on computer session with Dale Lattz and Gary Schnitkey. This session will address how to calculate and interpret costs of producing crops and livestock and demonstrate a FAST tool available for completing this exercise.

2) "Financial Planning and Cash Flow Budgeting for 2006" is another hands-on computer session with Paul Ellinger and Bruce Sherrick. This session will introduce participants to the FAST tools that allow participants to project alternative scenarios for 2006.

3) "Illinois' Big 10 Issues in Ag. Law and Taxation" with Don Uchtmann, Bryan Endress, and Gary Hoff. This session will address year-end tax planning, new legislation and court cases affecting agriculture, and other hot topics including the government's power to take private property.

4) "Should Technical Analysis by Part of Your Crop Marketing Program?" with Scott Irwin and Darrel Good. This session will review different technical price analysis tools and present evidence on the likely success of using technical indicators in crop marketing.

The registration fee for the workshops is $40 per person. The fee covers all workshop materials, breaks, and lunch. Registration at the door is $45 as space permits. You may register on line at www.farmdoc.uiuc.edu or send in the registration form by December 16 to Sue Esposito, University of Illinois, 1301 Gregory Drive, 326 Mumford Hall, Urbana, Il. 61801. For information, phone (217) 333-5506.