The USDA Farm Service Agency, along with the Blackfeet Community College, invites producers to attend a free Production and Financial Management Training Workshop, this Saturday, Jan. 26th, from 9am to 5pm at The Blackfeet Community College in Browning. Participation in this workshop will count toward the FSA's borrower training requirements.

A free lunch will be provided by Glacier Family Foods for all attendees. To register, please contact Lacy Roberts at the Glacier Co. FSA office by phone at 873-5618, or by email at lacy.roberts@mt.usda.gov .

SCHEDULE:

9:00am-10:00am: Travis Standley, Teton Co. Extension Agent on beef cattle nutrition and body condition scoring.

10:00am-10:50am: Dr. Steven Hjartarson on developing a herd health program and trich.

10:50am-11:00am: Break, sponsored by Glacier Family Foods

11:00am-Noon: Verna Billedeaux, Blackfeet Reservation Extension Agent on beef quality assurance.

Noon-12:30pm: Thedis Crowe, BIA, on leasing and trich policies.

12:30pm-1:00pm: Lunch, sponsored by Glacier Family Foods.

1:00pm-1:30pm: Nanna Flesch, Glacier Co. FSA Program Technician, and Anne Stephens, NRCS Browning Field Office, on USDA programs.

1:30pm-2:15pm: Jeff Flesch, Flesch Angus, and Jack Holden, Holden Herefords, on using EPD's and choosing production stock for your operation.

2:15pm-2:45pm: Lacy Roberts, FSA on production records.

2:45pm-3:00pm: Break, sponsored by Glacier Family Foods

3:00pm-5:00pm: Lacy Roberts, FSA Farm Loan Mgr, on developing a set of financial records and long-term financial goals for your operation.

ABOUT THE SPEAKERS:

-          Travis Standley is the new Teton County Extension Agent. Travis has been involved with beef cattle his whole life growing up on a commercial cow/calf operation at Cascade, MT. He attended MSU where he completed his Bachelors and then a Master’s degree in Ruminant Nutrition. Travis has been serving in MSU Extension for the past seven years in Stillwater, Carbon and now Teton Counties. Travis is still a rancher raising commercial livestock and will be bringing a good firsthand look to producers on beef cattle nutrition and how to assess body condition scores on your livestock to monitor your nutrition program.

-          Dr. Steven Hjartarson was raised north of Cut Bank on a cow/calf and small grain operation. His interest in livestock led him to Vet School and then back to take over the Northern Veterinary Clinic in Cut Bank. Dr. Hjartarson will talk about what it takes to put together a good herd health program and how to manage the risks of Trich to your cattle herd.

-          Verna Billedeaux is the MSU Blackfoot Extension Agent. She has been involved in agriculture her entire life. She and her husband, Bok St. Goddard, run a successful beef cattle operation SW of Browning. Verna will be providing Beef Quality Assurance Training to producers and sharing with them how to get the most out of their vaccine program by properly storing and handling their livestock and vaccine.

-          Thedis Crowe will be representing the BIA and talking about BIA policies and how that affects your operation. She will touch on the rules and regulations that are designed to decrease the spread of Trich between livestock  herds. Thedis knows firsthand how this affects producers as she runs her family ranch south of Browning.

-          Nanna Flesch, Program Technician for Glacier Co. FSA, will discuss the various Farm Service Agency programs and how they relate to livestock producers. Nanna and her husband, Jeff, operate Flesch Angus at Shelby.

-          Anne Stephens from the Natural Resource Conservation Service Browning Field Office will discuss the different programs available through NRCS to improve your ranch through conservation.

-          Jeff Flesch from Flesch Angus at Shelby and Jack Holden from Holden  Herefords at Valier will be covering EPDs and how you can use these to improve the genetics of your operation. Jeff has agreed to bring some of their seed stock up to show to participants and talk about selecting seed stock that will work in your operation.

-          Lacy Roberts is the FSA Farm Loan Manager for Glacier, Toole, Liberty and Pondera Counties. Lacy and her husband, Chris, run a small herd of Registered Angus cattle operation along with a custom haying operation west of Kevin. She graduated from MSU with a BS in Ag Business Management and Economics and has been with the FSA loan department for six years. She will be discussing how producers can set up production and financial records that will benefit their operation for years to come. In addition, Lacy will discuss what goes into a loan decision and how producers can improve their chances for success through financial management.

 

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