Ensuring the Strength of Montana’s Agricultural Economy: Responding to Climate Variability

While agricultural producers in Montana have always faced extreme weather conditions, the severity and variability of those conditions has been increasing. At the same time that February of 2019 ranked as one coldest and snowiest on record, average summer temperatures have been rising over the last 60 years and spring runoff has both declined and happened early over that same period of time. In the span of one or two seasons, producers in different parts of the state have experienced cycles of both drought and flooding. The extent and pace of this variability serves to make an already challenging environment for producers even more difficult.

This conference, produced in cooperation with the Montana Farm Bureau Federation and Montana Grain Growers Association, is aimed at helping producers find new approaches and extend existing strategies for responding to this variability. Conference panels and guest speakers will consider our evolving experience with and understanding of this variability, and the explore the innovations being developed by entrepreneurial producers and applied researchers to craft responses enabling them to succeed in increasingly competitive markets and ensure a stable food supply.

Please visit our website for full conference information including speakers, panelists and schedule: www.wheelercenter.org

Image credit: Kylee Snapp-Clark, Free Range Photography