| Are onions or cabbage our next high value cash crop under irrigation? Or
is it malting barley or chickpeas for dryland producers? Maybe some of
these questions can be answered at the next Value Added Ag Conference set
for Thursday, Dec. 13 at the Ernie French Center (Williston Research
Extension Center), located four miles west of Williston.
The conference will be an opportunity for producers, agribusiness, ag
lenders and industry and research leaders to come together and discuss a
wide range of topics concerning high value crops and value added ag
opportunities for both irrigated and dryland producers.
Registration begins at 8:30 a.m. (CDT) with sessions starting at 9 a.m.
There will be a small fee for registration, which includes the noon lunch.
The conference will conclude about 4:30 p.m. with an evening session
specifically on vegetable production (onions, cabbage, etc.).
The Value Added Ag Conference is an annual event designed to assist and
inform area producers about the development of crops or research being
conducted in the MonDak region. The event provides an opportunity for area
producers to network and develop relationships with leaders in these
industries and markets.
The conference kicks off with welcomes from Williston Mayor Ward Koeser,
and Dr. Joe McCann from Williston State College. During the morning
session, there will be updates from North Dakota and Montana on each states
involvement with value added agriculture. John Synder, North Dakota Ag
Products Utilization Commission, and Todd Kasten with the Montana
Department of Commerce will be giving the updates. Mike Dwyer, ND Water
Users Association, will discuss area water issues and financial
opportunities. Also, there will be a malting barley production update from
Cargill and Busch Ag.
Following lunch, Russ Fullmer, agriculture manager with Holly Sugar in
Sidney, will discuss how this years sugarbeet campaign went and the
future progress with the company. On the topic concerning the potential of
identity preserved grains, Tom Sinner with the North Dakota State Seed
Department, will expound on the opportunities. Kevin Kvamme with Earthwise,
a commodity marketing facility headquartered in Moorhead, MN, will
introduce the company and expand on new markets for alternative crops
especially for dryland producers. To close out the afternoon session, Mike
Kirby and Maynard Helgaas, who are both involved with the North Dakota
Commercial Vegetable Growers Association will update us on the different
vegetables (onions, cabbage, etc.) produced in the state. There will also
be discussion on how the onions did in the MonDak region.
Then at 6 p.m., Mike Kirby will come back and lead the discussion on
how to produce vegetables. This will be a more in-depth session on
production practices. We really want to get a few producers interested so
we can try onions on a larger scale. We have a unique opportunity to get
onions started in the region, as this is a good area to grow onions for
both yield and quality.
Sponsors of the event include NDSU Extension Service, NDSU Williston
Research Extension Center, MSU Eastern Ag Research Center and the
Williston Area Economic Development Foundation. |