Producers who want to take a look at profitability scenarios for 2009 and closely examine their financial options should attend the Texas AgriLife Extension Service cotton profitability workshop, said an Extension economist.

"We have a workshop slated for Thursday, March 5, at the AgriLife Research and Extension Center at Lubbock," said Jackie Smith, Extension economist based at Lubbock. "Our objective is to provide producers the tools, data and skills to evaluate the potential profitability of alternative crops. "

"Each participant will receive a hand-out that includes a printed copy of our presentations and selected crop budgets. They will also receive a CD containing Excel crop budgets and break-even tables, reference files, and a set of Internet links. This will help them use the Excel spreadsheet on their own computer."

The workshop will run from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Registration costs $20 per person, and includes lunch and refreshments.

The workshop is funded by a grant from the Texas State Cotton Support Committee.

"The grant enables us to develop a crop budget projection tool, conduct training workshops, keep the data updated, and then make the tool and information readily available to producers," Smith said. "The producers will go home with a spreadsheet that they can fine-tune with their own cost data and make accurate comparisons of the profitability of cotton and sorghum, for example. The comparison spreadsheet includes four cotton budgets and seventeen other crop budgets that can be quickly evaluated with expected input costs and crop prices."

"The Excel spreadsheet is also designed to allow users to examine the impact of different crop share rental arrangements on landlord and renter's net income."

Extension risk management specialists Jay Yates and Jeff Pate, Lubbock, and Extension cotton marketing specialist John Robinson, College Station, will help conduct the workshop.

Other topics on the agenda include: input price trends and projections for 2009; a farm bill update; basis, cash contracts and forward pricing tools using futures and options.

To register, contact Wendy Durrett at 806-746-6101. For more information, contact Smith or Yates at 806-746-6101.