By Tony Bailey

Do you really want cheeseburgers for breakfast, lunch and dinner? This offseason, expand your “meeting menu” and attend something different. Try going to a meeting with different topics or speakers to diversify your diet, so to speak. Here are a few areas to consider when selecting your winter meeting lineup:

Food. All meetings offer something. You’ll either find your favorite doughnuts with bad coffee or maybe a good lunch with a mouthwatering pork chop, barbecue or fried chicken. But when making decisions about where to spend your time, it should be about more than who has the best food or if the event is free.

Routine. It is easy to attend the same events year after year. It’s comfortable, and there will likely be someone you know there. Maybe you only attend meetings offering continuing education credits. But there are many good meetings that don’t offer credits.

Many meetings are likely sponsored by local retailers or suppliers. Are they covering topics you want to learn more about? Are speakers stretching your way of thinking, allowing your thought processes to grow?

Diversity. Just as we encourage diversity with cropping systems and cover crops, diversify the events you attend. Select a topic you have heard mentioned but know little about. Or what about a speaker you’ve never heard of? Find a speaker that stretches your viewpoint. Some current hot topics are building resiliency in extreme weather events, carbon credits and the economics of conservation. If you’re thinking about cover crops, a discussion about selection, establishment and termination within your existing cropping system might appeal to you.

Related:Find belonging in all corners of agriculture

Different events. If your favorite routine events don’t offer topics or speakers covering the latest in soil health, cover crops, sustainability and conservation, seek out meetings offered by the Conservation Cropping Systems Initiative (CCSI) or your local soil and water conservation district. CCSI works with the Indiana Conservation Partnership to assist with meetings across the state. If you have not done so already, check out ccsin.org for the latest on meetings or to be added to the email distribution list.

Although it is easy to attend the same workshops, conferences and meetings year after year, make sure you determine whether the topics and speakers are helping to grow your operation. Are they challenging your thought processes and how you produce crops? Are they challenging how you preserve and protect your valuable soil resources? This is that little nudge to encourage you to seek out that “different” event to diversify your diet.

Related:Spring means the return of ag education on the farm

Bailey is a state conservation agronomist with the Natural Resources Conservation Service in Indiana. He writes on behalf of the Indiana Conservation Partnership.