V O L U M E 2 7
NOVEMBER 2016
M O N TA N A
GRASS ROOTS F E E D I N G T H E F U T U R E T H R O U G H F A R M E R S U N I O N E D U C AT I O N A P U B L I C AT O N B Y M O N TA N A F A R M E R S U N I O N
2016 CONVENTION FOCUSES ON PULSE CROPS, FARM ECONOMY, DRONES & FARM BILL
Friday night reception hosted by Farmers Union Insurance at the Heritage Inn
PAID
GREAT FALLS, MT PERMIT NO. 93
NONPROFIT ORG US POSTAGE
Montana Farmers Union held its 101st annual convention in Great Falls at the Best Western Heritage Inn. The weekend was packed with workshops on drones, pulse crops, water rights, pesticide management, keynote speeches by Dr. Joe Outlaw and Eric McElvenny and visits from several elected officials including Governor Steve Bullock, Senator Jon Tester, Congressman Ryan Zinke and Superintendent of Schools Denise Juneau.
FUE Couple Brian & Barb Mothershead and daughter Dalaney
added business panel with Laura Garber of the Montana Poultry Growers Co-op, David Oien with Timeless Seeds and Brianna Ewert, Farm to Institution Coordinator, for Lake County Community Development. “The goal is to improve access to nutritious and fresh foods to our kids, hospitals and other areas,” said Ewert. “This path will lead to expanding markets for our farmers and ranchers.”
known nationwide for their trade marked Black Beluga lentils. Oien talked about the facility, production of his products and the company’s commitment to sustainable agriculture.
On Saturday, Robert Blair who is referred to as the “Unmanned Farmer,” and VP of a drone service company, shared his expertise on ways a farmer can use drone technology to reduce inputs and increase productivity. “There is a Garber talked about the new lot of knowledge on the farm and Dr. Joe Outlaw of Texas A & M poultry processing plant in Ham- we need to harvest that and use painted a realistic picture of the ilton which is housed on her farm. that information and knowledge.” farm economy and gave some ad- “This cooperative is extremely vice concerning the Farm Bill. He valuable for poultry growers,” Blair described the process of encouraged producers to fight for said Garber. “It’s a great way to using drones and what drone Title 1 payments and to work with provide local food to local peo- technology can tell us. “We can elected officials to begin work on ple.” ask ourselves: what can I do difthe Farm Bill as soon as possible. ferently? Did I turn on my corDavid Oien is a third-generation ners too fast when digging out Friday afternoon featured a value farmer. Timeless Seeds became the seed, do I need to slow down when seeding?” CONTINUED PG. 9