LOCAL BRIEFS

On Aug. 11, delve into how authors have responded with prose and poetry to the natural world.

Jack Hickerson, retired professor at Southwest Minnesota State University, will focus on short works by William Wordsworth, Minnesotan Sigurd Olson, Henry David Thoreau, Gerard Manley Hopkins and lesser-known contemporary writers, including former students. The class, sponsored by Unlimited Learning, is scheduled from 1:30-3:30 p.m. at the Hallett Community Center in Crosby.

Professor Hickerson, who taught literature and rhetoric for 40 years, will address several topics: "What is wild and instinctual in our nature?" "How do we regard other creatures, and what do our encounters with them reveal about us?" "What are the responsibilities (if any) of the hunter to the hunted?" and "How are we affected by a natural vs. artificial environment?"

Participants in the class are asked to pick up readings in advance so they are familiar with the literature being discussed. For information, contact Larry Foote at (218) 678-3034.

Funded in part by a Lifelong Learning Grant from the Minnesota Humanities Center, the program is open to the public for $6. For Unlimited Learning members, the program is part of this year's membership. Scholarships are available.

As a follow-up to the July 14 jazz and swing program, Unlimited Learning is offering a trip to the Guthrie Theater to see "Ella!" the life story of Ella Fitzgerald told through her music. The performance is at 1 p.m. Sept. 2. UL members pay $55, non-members, $70, for bus and performance. Call Joanna Pierce at (218) 534-4946 for ticket availability.

ACRE meetings planned

BAXTER - With a lot of questions still being asked about the new Average Crop Revenue program, and with some new information being made available on the program, the Morrison and Crow Wing FSA offices have scheduled additional producer information meetings.

Meetings are scheduled at 1 p.m. Wednesday at the Morrison FSA Office Board Room, 10 a.m. Aug. 5 at the Crow Wing FSA Office Board Room and 10 a.m. Aug. 6 at the Aitkin FSA Office board room.

For the 2009 crop year, acreage reporting and signup for the DCP and ACRE program has been extended through Aug. 14.

The ACRE alternative provides eligible producers a state-level revenue guarantee, based on the five-year Olympic average yield and the two-year national average price. Producers who elect the ACRE program for a farm agree to forgo counter-cyclical payments, accept a 20 percent reduction of the direct payments and accept a 30 percent reduction in loan rates.

ACRE was created to give producers an option in lieu of traditional counter-cyclical payments. Producers may elect and enroll in ACRE for the 2009 crop year even if they have already accepted advance direct payments under the Direct and Counter-Cyclical Program.

Information received since the last round of ACRE meetings includes setting the farm benchmark yield and the use of the county plug, important to farmers in this part of the state because of the recent dry years and resulting lower APHs. Producers are encouraged to attend one of the meetings to get the latest information.

For more information, contact the Crow Wing-Cass County FSA at 7118 Clearwater Road in Baxter or the agency's Web site at www.fsa.usda.gov or call at 829-5965.