After a large winter storm forced the conference to be postponed from the original January date in 2020 and restrictions put in place from the COVID-19 pandemic made the rescheduled March date impossible, the event was postponed to 2021.

The lineup of free day-time presentations will remain the same as the originally scheduled events with a hybrid model allowing attendance in person and online.

“We had an exceptional lineup and when we had to postpone, we were concerned we would have to find new speakers,” said Teddi Mueller, South Dakota Corn’s marketing director. “But we were very fortunate to have things fall into place. We’re gearing up for a great event, with top-notch presenters, which will be a lot of fun.”

Health and safety are a top priority at the upcoming conference. In order to prevent the spread of COVID-19, SDCGA has adopted a hybrid model with both in-person presentations and video streams available. Strict social distancing and mask requirements have been put in place to keep attendees safe.

One of the presentation highlights will be a discussion about weather and how it affects farmers in our area. Don Day Jr. of DayWeather will be a session at the conference many will not want to miss.

Don Day Jr. Weather Marketer

Don Day Jr. is president and chief meteorologist of DayWeather, Inc. For over 25 years, he and his team of expert meteorologists have provided customized broadcast weather services to more than 70 radio stations across Wyoming, Colorado and Nebraska with emphasis on the rural/ag listener. DayWeather, Inc. also provides long-range and seasonal forecasts for farmers and ranchers.

Day’s presentation at the conference will be centered around long-term forecasting and what this means for farmers as they begin to prepare for the upcoming growing season.

“The goal with long-term forecasting is to take a peek into the future as much as we can,” Day said. “We use an analog forecasting method that compares similar seasons in the corn belt and analyzes why that year can be a good indicator for the upcoming weather patterns.”

Day also said that by no means is predicting the weather perfect. He urges farmers and ranchers to be cautious with digitally prepared long-term forecasts. “Day-by-day forecasting leaves some of the overall weather forecasting behind,” Day said. “Just because it’s been wet and raining for several days doesn’t mean it’s going to be a wet season, and short-term forecasting leaves this out.”

His passion for weather started when he was a child and has only continued to develop. Day channels his enthusiasm for planning and predicting the weather to help apply skills to those he can help the most.

One of the main ideas Day covers involves trends. “I like to tell people ‘trend is your friends.’ I drop ideas in my presentation of what to watch for at home, since weather can vary and farmers have a livelihood that relies so much on what the weather will do.”

Space is limited for the in-person event, so be sure to call the office today at (605) 334-0100 or visit https://www.sdcorn.org/events/sd-corn-annual-conference-save-the-date to reserve your spot at the conference!