New Online Farming Conference Coming Up Soon for Central Minnesota

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(KNSI) – An online agricultural conference is coming up soon.

The St. Cloud Area Chamber of Commerce will present the new Farming Today virtual conference on March 9th and 10th.

The conference is free and open to the public.

“The Farming Today conference is open to anybody,” says Gail Ivers, vice president of the Chamber. “Anybody who’s interested in agriculture, interested in farming, is an agribusiness person … people who are farming enthusiasts are welcome to participate.”

The Chamber typically organizes one of the largest indoor farm shows in the Upper Midwest, the Central Minnesota Farm Show. With COVID-19 preventing an event like that, Ivers said they pivoted to an online format.

“We were thinking, ‘What else can we do if we can’t have a farm show with vendors and in person? What else could we do to still support that industry, to still give them access to current information?” Ivers said. “Our decision was this online conference could accomplish all of that.”

The two-day conference runs from 9:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. each day with 30-minute presentations on topics like agricultural policy, estate planning, weed management, the future of small dairy farms and soil health.

The conference’s keynote speaker for March 9th is Sixth District Congressman Tom Emmer, who will speak on ag policy. On the second day, keynote speaker Chris Clayton — ag policy editor for the Progressive Farmer — will talk about the impact of ag policy.

“In both cases, people will have a chance to meet with them, hear from them, ask questions,” Ivers said.

Pre-registration is not required but is suggested. Get more details on the conference at centralmnfarmingtoday.com.