66th Annual National Hard Spring Wheat Show Scheduled for March 11th-13th

The 66th Annual National Hard Spring Wheat Show will take place at the Raymond Family Community Center in Williston on, March 11th - 13th. 

The National Hard Spring Wheat Show is a free event, with the purpose to inform local farmers about the latest information on agricultural projects and research. "We strive to bring the newest information to the area, as sometimes learning the latest agricultural information requires many hours of travel. Northwestern North Dakota and Northeastern Montana has a different growing area and season than other parts of the state, so it is nice to have an event in the area related to how farming is done here," said Williams County 4-H Program Coordinator, Danielle Steinhoff.

This year there will be 13 featured speakers. Steinhoff said, "There will be all new speakers and topics! We are quite excited for the lineup for this year. Something that will be a great learning experience is Tuesday evening, we will be having a Hemp Agronomy presentation."

On Monday, March 11th, there will be a Bread Fair where area 5th graders will be learning how to make bread hands on.

On Tuesday, March 12th, there will be ten agricultural researchers and specialist presenters. Starting at 8:00 a.m. CST Dr. Adam Akyüz, North Dakota State Climatologist and professor of Climatological Practice at North Dakota State University (NDSU), will give a Weather Outlook talk; including his research dealing with climate change impact on growing seasons, the adaption of agroecosystems to climate change, and drought assessment and impact in North Dakota. Next, Dr. Bryon Parman, NDSU Agricultural Finance Specialist, will be speaking about farm financing, loans, and lending. At 9:45 a.m., Dr. Dave Ripplinger, NDSU Bioproducts and Bioenergy Economics Specialist, will be discussing how to manage financial stress. After a trade show break, Mark Jirik, Director of the Northern Crops Institute (NCI), will be discussing updates about the NCI. At 11:00 a.m., NDSU Extension Soil Specialist, Dr. Dave Franzen, will be presenting a Nutrient Management Recommendation Overhaul Talk. Then after lunch, Dr. John Nowatzki, NDSU Agricultural Machine Systems Specialist, will be discussing how Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Technology makes farming more efficient. At 2:00 p.m., Doug Landblom, Dickinson Research Extension Center's Beef Cattle Specialist, will be giving a presentation on methodologies to integrate crop and beef cattle systems to identify the complementing holistic potential that may exist using alternative grazing-based production approaches. Corey Paryzek, Williams County Weed Control Officer, will be speaking about noxious weed management at 3:15 p.m. Next Dr. Frayne Olson, NDSU Associate Professor and Crop Economist, will discuss a grain market outlook. Then at 6:45 p.m. Jeff Kostuik, Director of Operations Central Region (MB and Eastern SK), will be presenting a talk about international hemp genetics and agronomy.

On Wednesday, March 13th, at 9:00 a.m. there will be an introduction to the Design Your Succession Plan. After that, there will be Commodity Group Update, Awards Lunch, and entertainment provided by Folk Music Artist of the Badlands, Jessie Veeder. Concluding the event, Levi and Crystal Neuharth, farmers and ranchers from Pierre, South Dakota, will be giving a presentation about rangeland management.

For more information on the 66th Annual National Hard Spring Wheat Show, call the Williams County Extension Center at (701) 577-4595.