The Northwest Farm Managers Association will hold its 110th annual meeting for producers and others interested in agriculture on Jan. 30 at the Holiday Inn in Fargo.

The presentations will provide information to help guide producers through the current challenges in agriculture. Topics include farm financial management, grain market outlook and strategies, trade wars and the soybean market, how to use crop data analysis, research of unmanned aerial vehicles for agronomic decisions and yield prediction, and applying behavioral economics for farm decision making.

The meeting speakers and their topics are:

• Knowledge creation at the speed of farming - Dan Frieberg is the president of Premier Crop Systems, LLC, Des Moines, Iowa, which uses crop data analysis to drive better agronomic decisions and profits for growers across the Midwest by empowering them to test new products and refine input rates.
• Trade wars and N.D. soybeans - William Wilson, North Dakota State University Distinguished University Professor in the Department of Agribusiness and Applied Economics, conducts research on risk and strategy as applied to agriculture with particular focus on procurement, transportation and logistics, international marketing and competition. He regularly advises large agribusiness firms, major railroads and foreign governments.
• Marketing grain with Trumponomics - Bill Biedermann is a well-known speaker, trader and advisor on commodities. He co-founded Allendale Inc., one of the largest IB brokerage and agricultural economic research firms in the U.S., and will provide grain market analysis and strategies with his presentation.
• Insights from behavioral economics on farmer decision making - Ray Massey is an agricultural economist with the University of Missouri, who specializes in risk management and conducts research focused on production costs and returns, and decision making under uncertainty. He has researched how producers can use behavioral economics to make management decisions and to negotiate with land-owners.
• Using benchmarking to improve your farm - Betsy Jensen, farm business management instructor, Northland Community and Technical College, East Grand Forks, Minn., works one-on-one with farmers to benchmark their operations. She will help you identify small changes that can provide large financial rewards. Participants are encouraged to bring pencil and paper to her presentation and write down some formulas to keep their farming operation viable for future generations.
• Unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) for production agriculture - John Nowatzki, NDSU Extension agricultural machine systems specialist, does research and gives presentations on precision agriculture topics. Nowatzki will provide a summary of UAS research with both large and small unmanned aerial vehicles for weed and disease identification, stand emergence counts and yield prediction. He will also describe planned 2019 UAS sprayer research.

The meeting is open to the public. Registration begins at 8 a.m. and the meeting at 9. The fee for attending is $75, payable at the door. The fee includes a noon meal and breaks. For more information, call 701-231-7393.

NDSU Agriculture Communication – Jan. 16, 2019