Stockgrowers annual meeting set for Nov. 16

North Central Montana Stockgrowers Association and the Montana State University-Northern are hosting their annual events at Northern’s campus Saturday, Nov. 16, and everything is open to the public.

“I encourage all of our members to come and listen to our speakers in the afternoon and support the college kids in the evening,” North Central Stockgrowers Association President Dana Darlington said.

Events will start with North Central Montana Stockgrowers’ annual meeting and workshops from 1 to 5 p.m. in the Hensler Auditorium at Northern’s Applied Technology Center, followed by a Collegiate Stockgrowers meet and greet from 5 p.m. to midnight in the Student Union Building Ballroom, he said. He added that the meet and greet will include a prime rib and shrimp dinner, a cash bar, and live and silent auctions.

He said tickets will be sold at the door for $30 each.

The featured speaker will be Lane Nordlund, from the Montana Agricultural Network, Darlington said.

He said that this year at the annual Stockgrowers meeting, the Save the Cowboy Group, a group advocating against American Prairie Reserve, will be talking about the negative impact of the bison easement. He added that this presentation will be followed by a presentation from North 40 Ag regarding cover crops and then a tax update for the group.

The meeting will also include an election for a new association president, Darlington said. He said that has completed his two-year term and it is time for the association to pick someone on the board who is ready to move up.

The Collegiate Stockgrowers evening meet and greet will include live and silent auctions to raise funds for scholarships offered through the Stockgrowers Association, he said. He added that in the past, the association has partnered with the North Central CattleWomen to offer $500 scholarships every year.

Darlington said that the Collegiate Stockgrowers do a good job auctioning themselves off as work crews. He added that the work crews can do fencing, brandings or whatever else someone needs.

After the dinner the meet and greet will also include live music and dance, he said.

Stockgrowers Association will also be giving out two awards to the groups’ long-term supporters, with one award going to a legacy member and the other to a living member, Darlington said.