BOZEMAN, Mont. – The Montana State University College of Agriculture and Montana Agricultural Experiment Station will host the 20th annual Celebrate Agriculture weekend Nov. 1 and 2 on the MSU campus. The event will include an agricultural economics conference, an ice cream social and a celebratory Saturday morning event preceding the weekend’s home football game against Southern Utah.
The Celebrate Agriculture event is held each fall in honor of alumni, students and Montana’s agricultural community to celebrate the legacy of the university and the state in the field of agriculture. It is one of the College of Agriculture’s largest events of the year.
“Celebrate Agriculture weekend is a chance for us to recognize the rich history of Montana’s largest industry and to look toward the future of our college and the state,” said Vice President of Agriculture Sreekala Bajwa. “The people of this state are the foundation for all that we do at MSU, and we can’t wait to welcome community members, alumni, students and families to our campus to help celebrate.”
The first event of the weekend will be a career social for students in the Animal Bioscience Building on Thursday, Oct. 31, from 4 to 5:30 p.m. There, current students can meet with employers representing a variety of agricultural career opportunities, learn more about different post-graduation paths and network with employers.
The agenda for Friday, Nov. 1 will begin with the 13th annual Agricultural Economics Outlook Conference from 8:30 a.m. to 3:15 p.m. in the Strand Union Building’s Procrastinator Theater. The conference, hosted by the Department of Agricultural Economics and Economics and MSU Extension , will include talks on the Montana agricultural year in review, trade impacts on agricultural price trends, crop insurance, the effects of oil booms on agriculture and the fate of land formerly in the Conservation Reserve Program.
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The M.L. Wilson Lecture , titled “What is Yield Risk and How Do We Measure It?” will be delivered by Barry Goodwin, professor and department head in North Carolina State University’s Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics. Registration cost for the conference is $20 and lunch will be provided. More information and a complete agenda can be found online at http://www.ampc.montana.edu/fallconference/ .
Following the conference, the MSU Collegiate Stockgrowers will host a reception from 4 to 6 p.m. in the atrium of the Animal Bioscience Building. The Agricultural Education Club will host an ice cream social for Department of Agricultural and Technology Education alumni in Linfield Hall Room 231 from 4 to 5 p.m.
Saturday, Nov. 2, will kick off with a Celebration of Agriculture event from 9 to 10:30 a.m. in the Strand Union Building Ballrooms. That event will include coffee, light refreshments and remarks from MSU President Waded Cruzado and Buzz Mattelin, the recipient of the annual Outstanding Agricultural Leadership Award.
The award is given to a member of the Montana agricultural community who embodies service, engagement and impact in their communities. Mattelin, a third-generation barley, durum wheat and sugar beet grower from northeast Montana, was selected by a committee that included a faculty member from the College of Agriculture, a past MAES advisory council chair, the college’s development officer and student advisory council president.
“Buzz has long advocated for barley,” wrote MSU barley breeder Jamie Sherman in a nomination letter for Mattelin. “His advocacy has helped to ensure the success of MSU’s barley breeding program. Therefore, the newest barley release has been named “Buzz” in his honor.”
The American Malting Barley Association and National Barley Improvement Committee also submitted supporting documents for Mattelin’s nomination.
“Buzz is not only an outstanding in-state leader, but is recognized nationally as such, and has brought further enhancement and recognition to Montana agriculture and research through his years of service,” wrote Michael Davis, president of the American Malting Barley Association and executive secretary of the National Barley Improvement Committee. “In my 36-year career at AMBA, Buzz has stood out as one of the most outstanding and effective grower leaders that I have had the pleasure of working with in Montana and the nation.”
Mattelin will also be honored at the final event of the Celebrate Agriculture weekend when the Bobcats play Southern Utah at noon on Saturday, Nov. 2, at Bobcat Stadium. The game is the Agricultural Appreciation football game and the “ Pack the Place in Pink ” game in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
More information and a full agenda for the Celebrate Agriculture weekend can be found at http://agriculture.montana.edu/celebrateag .
