Using alfalfa as a cash crop, soybean production, pea leaf weevil in field peas and faba beans, marketing pulse crops, the 2018 farm bill and information on the U.S. Drought Monitor are among the topics that will be covered during the Diversity, Direction and Dollars 2018 agricultural forum set for Thursday, Jan. 4, at the Ramada Grand Dakota Lodge in Dickinson.

“This program will feature speakers on topics affecting agriculture in the western Dakotas and eastern Montana,” says Kurt Froelich, an agent with the North Dakota State University Extension Service’s Stark-Billings County office, which is hosting this event. “It will provide producers with ideas for improving productivity and decreasing costs while providing high-quality food produced in a sustainable manner.” The program will begin with registration at 8:15 a.m. MST. Northern Ag Network will welcome attendees.

Presenters and their topics are:

• Hans Kandel, NDSU Extension agronomist - growing soybeans in southwestern North Dakota
• Janet Knodel, NDSU Extension entomologist - pea leaf weevil, a new insect pest
• Emily Glunk, Extension forage specialist and assistant professor, Montana State University - alfalfa as a cash crop
• Brad Lubben, Extension associate professor, University of Nebraska-Lincoln - navigating a new farm bill and more in a changing policy world
• Brian Gion, marketing director, Northern Pulse Growers Association - maximize prices and reduce problems when growing pulses
• Laura Edwards, South Dakota State climatologist - inside the black box of the U.S. Drought Monitor

“Producers should come away with good ideas they can apply to their farm during the next cropping season and ways to position their farming operation to take advantage of the changes occurring,” Froelich says.

A registration fee of $20 covers all breaks, the noon lunch and materials, and is payable at the door. See the complete agenda at https://www.ag.ndsu.edu/starkcountyextension/. For more information about this event, contact Froelich at 701-456-7665 or kurt.froelich@ndsu.edu.

NDSU Agriculture Communication - Dec. 12, 2017