| Organizers have scheduled the annual MonDak Ag Days and Trade Show for
Friday and Saturday, Jan. 11 and 12, at the St. Matthews Center in
Sidney. This years show will feature the usual mix of educational and
informational sessions covering a wide range of agricultural topics.
Besides the scheduled presentations, Ag Days will also include an
alternate concurrent upstairs session, a 4-H and FFA Judging Contest, Ag
in the Classroom, sponsored by the Sidney High School Ag Ed department,
and a trade show. We have a little mix of everything, says Red Lovec,
Ag Days committee member. There should be something at Ag Days to
interest everybody.
Ag Days begins on Friday, Jan. 11 at 9 a.m., when the doors open at the
St. Matthews Center with the start of the trade show. The first
scheduled presentation begins at 9:15 a.m., when National Weather Service
meteorologists Pat Allard and Tonja Franzen plan to discuss the drought
outlook.
At 10:15 a.m., Patrick Riley from the Department of Natural Resources
and Conservation will discuss the current and future trends in water
resources for the MonDak region. Following Rileys presentation at 11:15
a.m., Dave Sass, field sales agronomist with
Pioneer Seed, will discuss managing corn and alfalfa for high value.
After a break for lunch, presentations begin again at 1 p.m., when Vern
Hofman, NDSU extension engineer, will give a talk on vegetable oil
technology and alcohol for use as fuel substitutes. At 1:45 p.m., Drs. Bob
Evans and Tom Shanower from the Sidney USDA/ARS lab will give a joint
presentation on current research at the Sidney lab and plans for future
research. The men also will give a brief update on the progress of current
construction at the lab site.
Gerald Roise from Powers Lake, ND, will finish off the Friday
presentations with a talk on the potential of wind power and the process
involved in developing a wind farm. Roises talk begins at 2:30 p.m.
Fridays program also includes an alternate upstairs program, which
runs concurrently with the program held on the main level. Organizers have
scheduled three presentations for the upstairs program. The first session
begins at 10 a.m. with a presentation by a representative from Montana
Grain Growers and a presentation on beef checkoff dollars at work given by
Jim Steinbeisser, board member on the Montana Beef Council. Mike Stewart
from the Investment Center in Sidney, will talk at the second session,
beginning at 11 a.m. Stewart will discuss the changes in the tax laws and
the investment strategies available with the 521 Plan.
The final upstairs program presentation begins at 2 p.m., when Tara
Hill (JD, CPA) and Jim Smrcka (CPA) give a joint presentation on estate
planning for farmers and ranchers.
Fridays trade show runs from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m. Other Friday
activities include Ag in the Classroom, an informational session for area
elementary students sponsored by the Sidney High School Ag Ed Department.
Saturdays Ag Days activities begin with the annual 7 a.m. Pancake
Breakfast, held at the St. Matthews Center and sponsored by the Sidney
Chamber of Commerce. Registration for those participating in the Keith
Steinbeisser Memorial Judging Contest begins at 7:30 a.m. at the St.
Matthews Center, with the judging contest itself running from 9
a.m.-noon, Saturday, at the Gartner Denowh Angus Ranch.
The ARS also will hold a sneak preview tour of the new facility
under construction at the ARS lab site. The tour begins at 9 a.m., and
interested people are asked to meet at the construction site and take
advantage of the tour opportunity.
Saturdays trade show begins at 10 a.m. and runs until 4 p.m. The
first presentation begins at 10:30 a.m., when Jerry Wurtz, a producer from
Plaza, ND, will discuss the Farm Works Computer Program and how it helps
in daily farm planning.
This years tour stop presentation, scheduled for 1 p.m., features
the Dwight Thiessen, of D&D Thiessen Herefords, Savage. Thiessen will
discuss his farm operation and how to maximize cattle and grain. The Ag
Days presentations wrap up at 2 p.m., when Tom Johnson from T.J.
Technologies, will discuss micronutrients and microbiology for increasing
crop yields.
Officials will announce the winners of the judging contest at 3 p.m.
The two-day event winds up with a banquet at the Triangle Nite Club,
with the no-host social beginning at 6 p.m., followed by the lamb and beef
banquet at 7 p.m. This year, Savage native Talina Tombre will provide the
entertainment following the banquet. |