March 15, 2011

Women involved in farming, ranching, or other agribusiness ventures can get useful information, financial advice, and even a bit of humor at the Common Threads Conference April 1 at Sidney.

The conference, designed for women in agriculture, will provide participants with knowledge to their develop personal and management skills and a better understanding of issues affecting them.

It will be held from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Holiday Inn, 664 Chase Blvd., Sidney.

The conference is for women who are

• involved in day-to-day farm and ranch business decisions;
• want to learn more about farm and ranch management;
• are landowners; or
• want to broaden their knowledge on agribusiness.

Speakers

Keynote speaker Yvonne Hollenbeck, a Clearfield, S.D., rancher’s wife and No. 1 award-winning cowgirl poet in America, will shed a bit of light on today’s little problems while being ever mindful of the hardships and big problems faced by the women of yesteryear.

Other topics and speakers include:

• Crop Insurance – Tips for the Season. Risk management tools and options for producers, presented by Carmen Egging-Draper, insurance specialist with Farm Credit Services of America.
   
• How Wheat Responds to Water. How soil water, timing and amount of precipitation, and total season water use influence grain production, presented by David Nielsen, research agronomist, U.S. Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Station, Central Great Plains Research Station, Akron, Colo.
   
• What 2010 Dietary Guidelines? A look at the new dietary guidelines, presented by Jeanne Murray, UNL Extension Educator, Box Butte County.
   
• Victory Hill Farms. Owner Sarah Pinet will discuss the small, family-owned and operated Grade A goat dairy farm and cheese-making operation in Scotts Bluff County.
   
• Who Gets Grandma’s Yellow Plate? A guide to passing on personal belongings, presented by Carla Mahar, UNL extension educator in Garden and Deuel counties.

Registration

The $25 registration fee covers conference materials, breaks, and lunch. Advance registration is due by March 25, after which the fee is $30. Registration forms and more information are available on the Cheyenne, Kimball, Banner Extension Website or:

in person at the UNL Extension office at Sidney at 920 Jackson Street,
by mail at P.O. Box 356, Sidney, NE 69162
by phone 308-254-4455 or 866-865-1703, or
by e-maiing Extension Educator Karen DeBoer at kdeboer1@unl.edu.

Numerous vendor booths also will be available.

David Ostdiek, Communications/Technology Specialist
Panhandle REC, Scottsbluff