The 79th annual North Dakota Stockmen's Association convention and trade show will be Sept. 25-27 in the Grand International Inn in Minot. The convention will include informational programs, speakers, policy development sessions, member recognitions and social activities.
The convention begins Thursday with a golf scramble at 9:30 a.m. at the Wildwood Golf Course, near Burlington. Preregistration is not required, but appreciated. Contact golf scramble chairman Paul Bichler at 226-0205 or pbichler@westriv.com.
The Cattlemen's College, featuring the topic "Cattle Handling Made Easy," begins at 2:30 p.m. Thursday in the Grand International Inn. Supper and the welcome reception follow at 5 and 6 p.m., respectively.
On Friday, the trade show runs from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., the business session opens at 9 a.m., the candidates' forum will be Friday morning, a ranch labor panel discussion at 11 a.m. will cover techniques to recruit and retain high-quality ranch laborers, five committees Agriculture Policy and Environmental Issues, Animal Health, Brand and Theft, Feeding and Marketing, and Research and Education meet between 1 and 5 p.m., a social and supper will follow at 5 p.m., the North Dakota Stockmen's Foundation's inaugural fundraising auction will be held at 7 p.m. and the day concludes with a game patterned after the "1 vs. 100" game show at 7:30 p.m.
Saturday's schedule includes a continental breakfast from 7:30 to 9 a.m., the North Dakota CattleWomen's silent auction from 7:30 a.m. to noon and and coffee party from 8 to 9 a.m., guest speakers Chandler Keys, the vice president of government affairs and industry relations for JBS Swift, Greg Wagner, a senior commodity analyst for the Chicago-based AgResource Co., and Kay Johnson Smith, the executive vice president of the Animal Agriculture Alliance, beginning at 9 a.m., awards luncheon for outstanding youth at noon, business session at 1:30 p.m., a social begins at 6 p.m. and a banquet follows at 7 p.m.
Luncheon honorees include National Cattlemen's Beef Association Region 7 Environmental Stewardship Award winners Lynn and Patti Hovde, Alexander.
Banquet honorees include Shawn and SheVele Unruh, Zap, Ranchers of the Year; association president Mark Huseth, North Dakota State University Animal Science Professor Russ Danielson and U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Ed Schafer, honorary North Dakota Stockmen's Association members; and Ken Halvorson, Stanley, and Jon Hendrickson, Rhame, Outstanding Local Brand Inspectors.
The registration fee is $25 for all three days of the convention or $15 a day. There are additional fees for the meals.
Daily News Staff