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K-State' s MAST Program teaches ag management skillsOnline program allows producers to learn at home When Minnesota farmer Bruce Wichmann signed up for a four-month Kansas State University program to hone his production and business skills, he wasn't sure what to expect from the online course. What he got, said Wichmann, was an array of resources, personal interaction with internationally-known agricultural economists and the opportunity to discuss issues affecting his operation with others facing similar challenges. Wichmann, who is the owner and operator of Greywolf Farms in Fairfax, Minn., was part of K-State' s 2007-2008 Management, Analysis and Strategic Thinking Program. The MAST program is open to agricultural producers throughout the United States who want to sharpen their management skills and plan for the future. K-State is now enrolling participants for the next MAST class. The Web-based program, which begins Nov. 11 and 12, is open to all agricultural producers, according to Alicia Goheen, MAST program coordinator. While the program kicks off with a session on K-State' s Manhattan, Kan. campus, the majority of the learning is done at home through modules accessed on the Internet, Goheen said. Topics covered during the program include: Land Ownership and Leasing; Machinery Ownership and Leasing; Financial Analysis; Human Resources; Tax Management and Policy; Risk Management; and Marketing. At the November orientation, class members will be introduced to the MAST program' s online technology and will meet the MAST instructors and other participants, Goheen said. "Participants then head home to begin working on the distance learning portion of MAST," she said. "The nice part about this is that producers can work through the modules on their own schedule--whether that' s before the work day gets started or in the evening when work and family activities are winding down." The modules will be completed by Feb. 9 and 10, 2009, when participants gather again in Manhattan for a wrap-up and graduation. Wichmann, who runs a 600-acre row crop operation, said it was helpful to him to discuss issues with class participants from Kansas and other states and the MAST instructors. "One of our instructors was (risk management specialist) Art Barnaby. He' d just come back from testifying in Washington, D.C. to a Senate ag panel," Wichmann said, adding that because of the small class size, he became better acquainted with the MAST instructors than he was able to become acquainted with faculty while studying for his undergraduate degree at North Dakota State University. William Bruce Springer of St. Louis, Mo., also was part of the 2007-2008 MAST program. A retired attorney, Springer owns farmland in Saline County, Kan., and now is able to manage the landowner interest in the property. "For one thing, I'm committed now to serious strategic planning and I'm planning the work, working the plan, all the time. For another, the section of the (MAST) program about land leasing was full of principles that I refer to frequently in matters of landowner-operator relations," Springer said. More information and registration materials can be found on K-State' s MAST website: http://www.agmanager.info/MAST or by contacting Goheen at 785-532-4434 or agoheen@agecon.ksu.edu. 9/22/08 Date: 9/17/08 Advertisement
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