HELENA, MT. – The 2022 Montana’s Next Generation Conference will provide six powerful evening sessions covering recordkeeping, markets, marketing, crop production, succession planning, and business topics. Sessions will be on Tuesday and Thursday evenings from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m., beginning January 11. All sessions will be broadcast and accessible online. Sessions will be free, but registration is required at https://tinyurl.com/3py9unt9 or via the link at www.mtnextgen.com.
Farm Service Agency (FSA) borrowers can complete their borrower training requirements through the series by participating in three evenings of their choice and completing the quiz and evaluation for those sessions.
Sessions will be as follows:
Jan. 11 – Lacy Roberts, Glacier County Farm Loan Manager, will start the series off with Beginning Financial and Production Recordkeeping. She will cover the basics of developing a balance sheet and cash flow along with how to keep track of income and expenses.
Jan. 13 – Al Kluis, Kluis Commodity Advisors, will give an in-depth look into the 2022 commodity markets. He will help producers develop their own marketing plan while learning how they can use futures and options through activities to make it personal for each operation.
Korey Fauque of Happy Steer Ranch and KW Insurance will share how they have successfully integrated livestock into their farming operation and the lessons they have learned from direct marketing their beef.
Jan. 18 – The Changing Face of Agriculture – Wade McAlpine, Northwest Farm Credit Services appraiser, will cover land values and factors impacting current sales. Marlee Sandry of USDA Rural Development will follow up with Value Added Agriculture and opportunities for farmers and ranchers to grow their profits through a value-added enterprise. The Western Sustainability Exchange will have Chris Mehus and Holly Stoltz on to cover carbon credits for the farm or ranch and what it means as a producer.
Jan. 21 – Marketing and 2022 crop production will be the topic of the night. Al Kluis will provide Part II of his session on developing a marketing plan for your farm or ranch.
Joe Nelson, Market Intelligence Officer for WinField United Adjuvants, will cover crop inputs for the coming growing season. He’ll have an outlook for input prices, discuss what is driving input costs, and provide suggestions for how producers can prepare and plan.
Jan. 25 – Ty McDonald of Waddel & Reed will cover succession planning for the farm or ranch. No matter your stage in the process, Ty will share tips for moving forward with the transition of the agricultural business to the next generation.
Jan. 28 – Taxes and Legal Issues – The conference will conclude with Britney Tempel of Montana Roots Accounting, PLLC and Brian Lee of Lee Law Offices presenting. Britney will share updates in the tax accounting world and how to manage the tax and cash flow side of a drought. Brian will wrap up with current legal issues in agriculture.
For registration questions, please contact Kari Lewis at (406) 873-2239 or [email protected]. For FSA borrower training questions, please contact Lacy Roberts at (406) 873-5618 (ext. 2060) or [email protected].
