["Seventy-one percent of ACT-tested 2010 North Dakota high school graduates were ready for college English, 48 percent for math, 56 percent for reading and 31 ...

The average North Dakota composite ACT score in 2009 was 21.5 out of a possible 36.

Pine and spruce trees are showing signs of decline.

Drought is impacting about a quarter of the state.

Information about new seed varieties will be among the topics.

The facility will help meet the needs of the seed industry.

Farmland values across the state are up a modest 1.74% while cropland cash rents are up 0.77%.

The 1 percent decline continues a slow downward trend for land values statewide that first was seen in the 2015 report and continued through 2017.

Strong yields in 2016 provided a temporary relief to the downward pressure on land values and rents.

Buyers and renters should not be blinded by the many positives and ignore potential negative outcomes that could occur.