The annual Western Montana Grazing and Agriculture Conference, scheduled for Jan. 19-20 in Missoula, will focus on opportunities in agriculture in western Montana. The two-day conference is hosted by Montana State University Extension in Missoula County, the Missoula Conservation District and the Lake County Conservation District.

The conference will highlight innovative strategies and marketing options that producers use to manage land and create viable land stewardship models for increasingly fractured plot sizes and uses of agricultural lands in western Montana, according to Patrick Mangan, MSU Extension horticulture agent in Missoula County.

Presentations will cover value-added agricultural opportunities; weed and rodent management on farms; grazing and pasture management for horses, cows and other ruminants; irrigation management; and other topics of interest to landowners, regardless of the size of their property.

Cory Miller, owner of Grass Valley Farms in Missoula, is the keynote speaker. He will present the methods he uses to support soil health, grazing management and an ecosystems approach to land management. Grass Valley Farms integrates fungal communities into its soils, uses virtual fencing systems to manage cattle and other strategies to improve land and soil health.

The conference will be held at the Doubletree by Hilton Missoula Edgewater hotel, 100 Madison St. The $50 registration fee includes lunch Thursday, a social hour that evening and breakfast Friday morning. Participants may register online at missoulaeduplace.org/event/23735 and find more details at lakecountyconservationdistrict.org/2023-western-montana-grazing-and-ag-conference/.

For additional information, contact Mangan at 406-258-4205 or [email protected].

Source: Montana State University