The 2020 Prairie Grains Conference, normally held in Grand Forks, N.D., is going virtual this year. The free conference, co-sponsored by the Minnesota Soybean Research & Promotion Council, takes place Dec. 10 and offers growers a full day of keynote speakers and breakout sessions.

Daryl Ritchison, director of the North Dakota Agricultural Weather Network, Ambassador Gregg Doud and American Farm Bureau Federation Chief Economist Dr. John Newton will serve as keynote speakers. Minnesota Department of Agriculture Commissioner Thom Petersen will also deliver remarks at approximately 1:05 p.m.

The breakout sessions will cover topics from wheat and soybean varieties, cover crops, marketing, water issues, state legislative issues and more. Soybean checkoff-funded researchers, including Angie Peltier, Bob Koch and Dean Malvick, will appear as part of the soybean breakout sessions starting at 7 a.m. Soybean discussions will include: soybean aphid and soybean cyst nematode updates; new disease challenges and management updates; and green-seeding soybean into cover crops in northwest Minnesota. Each session will allow for participants to ask questions.

“The Council is once again proud to sponsor the Prairie Grains Conference,” MSR&PC Director of Research David Kee said. “Although we’ll miss visiting in-person with growers, researchers and industry leaders, we’re excited to participate in a full day of discussion around the latest developments in soybean checkoff research.”

Click here to register. Most conference sessions will be recorded and made available to conference attendees one week after the conference.