Leave a Legacy, Not a Headache-Estate Planning Made Easier

Have you thought about the legacy you want to leave behind? Does your legacy include leaving behind struggles and headaches for your family? If you do not have a will or an estate plan, that may be what you will leave behind.

While estate planning may seem complicated, the best step to take is the first one. UNL Extension, through a grant from the North Central Risk Management Education Center, is hosting a series of estate planning workshops across the Panhandle to help ranchers and farmers START and FINISH their estate plans.

The “Estate Planning Education Program” is broken into five steps to make planning your estate easier. Step 1 is an “Estate Planning Workshop” that will overview what options are available. Step 2 is completing a workbook that guides you to define goals, gather vital information, and talk with family members. Step 3 is an individualized work session with UNL Extension Transition Specialist, Dave Goeller. Dave will help you refine your goals, review documents to be assembled, and get you organized to make the most of your time with the estate planning attorneys. You can even receive facilitation assistance for a family meeting if needed. In Step 4, you will meet with an estate-planning attorney for a one-hour meeting. Step 5 is finishing your plan.

Sign up today! This program walks you step-by-step through the confusing process of estate planning free of charge. The first workshops will be held in December at four locations in and around the Panhandle. Dates include: December 15 at the 4-H Building in the Cheyenne County Fairgrounds in Sidney, December 16 at the Panhandle R&E Center in Scottsbluff, December 17 at the Alliance Country Club in Alliance, and December 18 at Stubs Restaurant in Thedford. The workshop will run from 10:30 am to 4 pm local time. Meetings with Dave Goeller will be in January and/or February. Limited time is available with the estate planning attorneys.

Don’t miss your chance at this great opportunity- call the local Extension Office today: Cheyenne Co Extension at 308.254.4455, Scotts Bluff County Extension at 308.632.1480, Box Butte County Extension at 308.762.5616, and Central Sandhills Area Extension at 308.645.2267 or 1.800.657.2113. Pre-registration is required two weeks prior to the meeting.

Nebraska & Colorado Crop Clinic

Colorado State University and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln are jointly hosting this year’s Crop Clinic on Limited Irrigation Systems Dec. 2 and 3 at Sterling, Colo.

 The clinic’s goals are to provide education for farmers and their advisors about:

•  understanding crop-growth stages when water stress is and is not acceptable;
• optimizing limited irrigation water for crops and crop rotation systems;
• recognizing weed, insect and disease pest shifts under crop drought stress;
• appreciating the benefits of leaving old crop residues for soil moisture and organic matter retention;
• and developing a cost-efficient crop and crop system fertilizer plan. 

Registrations for this clinic are limited and will be taken until the program maximum is filled.  For further information or to register, contact Bruce Bosley at Colorado State University at 970-522-3200, extension 285, or email – bruce.bosley@colostate.edu.  Registration forms also are available at the front desk at the UNL Panhandle Research and Extension Center at Scottsbluff. 

The clinic planning committee is requesting one continuing education credit (CEU) for licensed pesticide applicators for agricultural weeds, and also hopes to offer CEUs for certified crop advisors as follows: Soil & Water – 6, Nutrient Management – 3, Crop Management 3, and Pest Management 2.

Midwest Rural Agricultural Safety and Health Forum

Noon Wednesday to Noon Thursday
November 18-19, 2009
Stoney Creek Inn, Johnston, IA

Iowa's Center for Agricultural Health and Safety (I-CASH) and the Great Plains Center for Agricultural Health, both based in the UI College of Public Health, will host the Midwest Rural and Agricultural Safety and Health Forum Nov. 18-19 at the Stoney Creek Inn in Johnston, Iowa.
 
The forum will feature Dr. S. Leonard Syme, professor emeritus from the University of California-Berkeley. Dr. Syme, a nationally recognized expert on community-based participatory research will give a keynote address on Wednesday, Nov. 18. Dr. Robert (Chip) Petrea will give a talk Wednesday afternoon describing the rural roadway safety initiative that is taking place in nine upper mid-west states. The conference also includes plenary sessions on social marketing and research to practice plus several presentations on methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus and H1N1 flu.
 
Information regarding registration can be found at http://www.public-health.uiowa.edu/icash/ or by calling 319-335-4224.  The deadline for early registration is November 6, 2009
 
Registration discounts are available to farmers and students. For forum details and registration information, contact Eileen Fisher at 319-335-4224.

Medicare Prescription Drug Plan Open Enrollment Period Begins in November

Jeanne Murray, University of Nebraska Lincoln Extension Educator, working with the Nebraska Senior Health Insurance Information Program [SHIIP], will be holding enrollment sessions in Alliance for beneficiaries who would like assistance in comparing plans or enrolling in a plan. 

Enrollment in Alliance is available from Monday, November 17 through December 18. For appointments, contact the Box Butte County Extension office at 762-5616. Please bring along Medicare card, a current list of prescription drugs available from your pharmacy, and any information about your current drug plan. Make your appointment today. 

November 15 through December 31, 2009, is the Annual Open Enrollment period for 2010 for Medicare beneficiaries who wish to make changes in their prescription drug plan or enroll in a plan if they missed the earlier deadline. Those who were eligible to enroll but did not, may be assessed a 1% penalty at the time they do enroll.

Medicare’s Drug Plan Finder tool on Medicare’s national website is now updated with 2010 information so that beneficiaries can compare coverage options. The web address is: www.medicare.gov look for the Compare Prescription Drug Plans section. Actual enrollment in a plan cannot be done until November 15. 

For 2010 in Nebraska there are 44 drug plans with a variety of premium amounts, deductibles, and drug co-pays. Each of the drug plans has a formulary list which includes the most common prescription drugs used by older adults. Those enrolled during 2009 should have received information from their current drug plan with updated prices. The 2010 Medicare & You Handbook has been mailed to all Medicare beneficiaries as well.

Part D changes for 2010 include a maximum deductible of $310, initial coverage limit of $2,830 and out-of-pocket threshold of $4,550. These amounts represent an increase over 2009. Only 17 plans available to Nebraskans have a $0 deductible, while nine plans offer drug coverage in the “gap.” The average monthly premium in Nebraska is $49.59 with twenty-eight plans offering premiums below that amount. Premium prices range from $22.80 to $104.10.

Low Income Subsidies can be applied for with qualifying income and resources to help pay monthly premiums and prescription co-pays.

Extension Minute

Meeting the Challenge: Farming in Uncertain Times

With production costs on a roller-coaster ride and commodity prices fluctuating wildly, 2009 is shaping up as an especially challenging year for producers. This year, more than ever, farmers need to sharpen their pencils and have the best possible information at their disposal. This 10-part series of articles addresses the issues facing most western Nebraska farmers as they look to the 2009 growing season. The articles are written by Extension specialists and educators.  Meeting the Challenge: Farming in Uncertain Times. 

AgrAbility Helps Keep Farmers, Ranchers with Disabilities on the Farm

UNL Extension and Easter Seals Nebraska are partners in a program that helps farmers and ranchers with disabling injuries or other health-related conditions become independent enough to carry on and succeed at their profession. For more information, please see the High Plains Journal article on AgrAbility.

*PDF format requires the free Acrobat Reader.