Save the Date – Montana’s Next Generation Conference is on the calendar for Saturday, Jan. 31 – Shelby, MT
The Montana’s Next Generation Conference is planning to be back up live and in-person for 2026 with an education packed line-up on Saturday, Jan. 31 at the Shelby High School.
The day will kick off with registration at 8 am and opening sessions at 8:30. Online registration will be required by Monday, January 26 for the conference and registration will be available shortly. Here is a printable registration form with the schedule, Registration Form.
Please follow this link for online registration.
The morning will kick off with a much-anticipated keynote address “Sharks Don’t Swim Backwards” from Rob Sharkey, also known as The SharkFarmer, along with his wife Emily. Rob gained recognition as a podcast, radio and TV host with regular appearances on RFD-TV and PBS along with owning a whitetail deer hunting outfit and operating a grain farm in Illinois. Rob and Emily will share their personal story of how they came back after the hog market crash and rebuilt their farm operation with the goal in mind to make it possible to bring their children back into the operation and the lessons they learned along the way.
Following the keynote address, participants will be able to choose from six different workshops to attend each hour. Topics will include workshops designed for beginning producers as well as advanced knowledge for continuing education. Pesticide points will be available and posted prior to the conference.
The conference will satisfy Farm Service Agency (FSA)’s requirements for financial management training. Pesticide points will be available for selected classes as well and announced prior to the conference.
Tentative schedule will be finalized in the coming weeks. If you are interested in sponsoring a session or have registration questions for the 2026 conference. please contact Kari Lewis at 406-873-2239 or kari.lewis@montana.edu.
For FSA borrower training questions, please contact Lacy Roberts at (406) 873-5618 (ext. 2060) or lacy.roberts@usda.gov.
The Montana’s Next Generation Conference is a joint effort of local MSU Extension, NACDC Financial Services, Inc., agriculture industry groups, and local supporters. Thank you to all who support the conference through planning, sponsorships, attendance, etc. This successful collaboration has been going for 10 plus years thanks to strong support.
