MSU to Celebrate Agriculture November 7 and 8

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BOZEMAN – Montana State University’s College of Agriculture will hold its annual Celebrate Agriculture Weekend Nov. 7-8 in Bozeman. All events are open to the public.

Events will include an agricultural outlook seminar, presentations, tours, a classroom dedication and recognition of the Outstanding Agricultural Leaders Don Burnham and Sky Anderson and Monica Switzer. 

“This event is one of the most important events our college does annually,” said Glenn Duff, interim dean of the College of Agriculture and Montana Agricultural Experiment Station. “It’s a time to honor the history and roots of the college as well as the state and its people, which all reside in agriculture. It’s a weekend for us to thank our statewide supporters and producers while celebrating the past and future of agriculture.”

On Friday, a conference, “Montana Agriculture: Current Issues and the Role of Agricultural Research,” will feature experts on agricultural policy, the Montana economy and livestock and grain markets. The conference’s keynote speaker will be Philip Pardey, professor of applied economics at the University of Minnesota and director of the International Science and Technology Practice and Policy Center. Pardey will address the role of global research in agriculture.

Faculty from the Department of Agricultural Economics and Economics will also discuss the outlook in small grains, livestock, energy and policy. The conference will run from 8:30 a.m. to 12 p.m. in the Procrastinator Theater in MSU's Strand Union Building. Conference registration is $25. Participants should call 994-3511 to register. A full schedule is available at http://www.ampc.montana.edu/fallconference.html.

The College of Agriculture gives Outstanding Agricultural Leader awards each year to selected individuals who have exhibited outstanding leadership in Montana in public service, as an agricultural producer, industry advocate or agri-business leader. Don Burnham of Helena and Sky Anderson and Monica Switzer of Shields Valley have been named Outstanding Agricultural Leaders for 2014. The awardees will be recognized on Friday at an awards luncheon to be held in MSU’s SUB Ballrooms.

A dedication of the CHS Master Classroom in Linfield Hall will take place following lunch. For years, CHS Inc., a farmer-owned energy and food processing cooperative, has funded numerous scholarships and educational opportunities for MSU students. Last year the cooperative funded the renovation of an aging MSU agricultural education classroom into a 21st century classroom, now capable of distance learning, video conferencing and other multimodal technologies.

Gary Brester, MSU agricultural economics professor, said CHS, Inc. has been incredibly generous to the College of Agriculture.

“Their continued generosity in helping us design and create a state-of-the-art classroom is indicative of their desire to develop young people into highly educated, productive members of society,” Brester said. 

On Saturday, Nov. 8, the college will host a Harvest Breakfast that will begin at 10:30 a.m. in the Shroyer Gymnasium. MSU President Waded Cruzado will deliver remarks and introduce the new MSU Vice President of Agriculture, Charles Boyer. The breakfast is free, but please RSVP by emailing agdean@montana.edu. Later that day, the MSU Bobcats will take on Portland State at 2:05 p.m. Tickets for the game may be purchased by calling (406) 994-CATS.

For more information about Celebrate Agriculture and the event schedule, visit: http://ag.montana.edu/CelebrateAg/.

 

 

Source:  MSU News Service

Posted by Jami Howell

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