MSU Hosting Annual Crop Seminars in Early January

Montana State University Extension will be holding a session of seminars for crop producers in the Golden Triangle area of Montana in early January.

The seminars will be held Jan. 5-9 in nine communities in north-central Montana, namely:

• Chester - United Methodist Church, 501 Monroe Ave.
• Choteau - Stage Stop Inn, 1005 Main Ave. N.
• Conrad - Moose Lodge, 617 S. Main St.
• Cut Bank - Glacier County Library, 21 First Ave. SE.
• Fort Benton - Ag Center, 1205 20th St.
• Great Falls - Great Falls College MSU, 2100 16th Ave. S. (Room 1500)
• Havre - Great Northern Fairgrounds, 1676 U.S. Highway 2 W.  (4H Chuckwagon)
• Shelby - Comfort Inn, 455 McKinley Ave.
• Stanford - City Hall, 102 Central Ave.

All the seminars are free to attend, and registration opens at 8:30am for eight of the seminars.  The only exception is Great Falls, where registration will begin at 9:30am.

For more information, you can contact the MSU Extension office for each area.  Contact information can be found at the page linked above.

What will be topics at the seminars?

There are four primary topics set to be discussed.

Rather appropriately for a talk talking place so early in the year, one presentation will discuss the markets, such as pricing trends and factors that can impact the markets and prices.

Another presenter will discuss cover crops and forages, along with advice on grazing practices.

A third presentation will cover grain forage options, along with haying and how to change focus from cereal grains to a hay crop due to crop damage.

Finally, the fourth presentation will talk about new crop varieties that may be better suited for Montana's growing conditions.

As an added incentive, attending one of the seminars can and will qualify as recertification credits for commercial and private pesticide applicator licenses.