| BILLINGS - More than 50 seminars for farmers, ranchers and
small land owners will be offered during the seventh annual "January
Thaw: Farm and Ranch Conference," Jan. 2 - 6, at Rocky Mountain
College.
The program is put on by Rocky Mountain College and the Montana State
University Extension Service and is co-sponsored by Stockman Bank and 16
Montana and four Wyoming counties.
"The Conference will feature a wide variety of speakers,"
notes conference co-chairman, MSU-Extension Agent John Pfister.
John Cech, conference co-chairman and dean of RMC's OutReach program,
said he wants the public especially to be aware of two discussions on
issues with great impact on Montana and the nation. One is on the
implications of coalbed methane. The panel will be 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
Jan. 3 and will include Jim Bauder, MSU-Extension soil/water quality
specialist; Mike Caskey, Redstone Development Corporation; a
representative from the Powder River Basin Resource Council; Brian Gurney,
MSU-Billings; and John Wheaton, Montana Bureau of Mines.
The special Jan. 4 panel from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. in the Fortin
Auditorium will discuss "Resource Conflict in the 21st Century,"
which deals with management of public lands, water rights, grazing,
wildlife, and fire issues.
The conference will be at the Fortin Education Center at RMC. Cost of
the five-day conference is $120, which includes lunches, with a $75 spouse
option or $45 per individual day. For more information or registration,
contact the RMC Community Services OutReach Division at (406) 657-1040, or
by calling 1-800-877-6259 extension 1040, or www.outreach.rocky.edu. |