12/26/2012 Northern States Beef Conference coming soon By The Associated Press The early registration deadline for the Northern States Beef Conference is Jan. 4. The conference is held Jan. 17-18 at the Watertown Regional Extension Center, Watertown. Drought conditions, high input costs and income are forcing producers to re-evaluate many of their management options. Producers who attend the Northern States Beef Conference will have the opportunity to hear from leading experts and producers from across the country as they address these topics. Jim Robb is one of the experts who will be presenting. Robb is the director of the Livestock Marketing Information Center in Denver, Colo. He is well versed in cattle markets and factors that influence our markets. "Jim Robb has a tremendous ability in taking all the factors that affect our market into consideration as he looks at the potential future markets," said Julie Walker, SDSU Extension Beef Specialist. "Perhaps, most importantly, he boils it down into terms that are easy to understand and apply." Another speaker is Dennis Todey, State Climatologist. Todey will share the forecast for 2013. He has a background in climatology, meteorology and agricultural meteorology. "The factor that we can't control is the climate, however, knowing what to expect allows producers to implement management strategy early," Walker said. "Dennis Todey understands the weather signals and can communicate with public the expected forecast." To learn more about the total program, contact your local SDSU Extension Regional Center, visit iGrow.org, call Warren Rusche at 605-882-5140 or email warren.rusche@sdstate.edu, or call Julie Walker at 605-688-5458 or email julie.walker@sdstate.edu.

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