Jack McCall

MONTE VISTA — Jack McCall will give the keynote address for the largest farm show in this region, San Luis Valley, the Southern Rocky Mountain Agricultural Conference and Trade Fair.

This long-running Ag Conference will be held at Ski Hi Park in Monte Vista from Feb. 9-12. McCall’s keynote address will be on Wednesday afternoon, Feb. 10.

This is the fifth year that the conference has been scheduled for four consecutive days. Potato Day is back on Tuesday this year.

The conference will undoubtedly feature a sold-out Agricultural Trade Fair. The conference will address a wide-range of topics such as potato management on Potato Day (Tuesday); Alfalfa Management on Forage Day (Wednesday), Weed Management on Grain Day (Thursday); and Water topics on Friday.

This 27th annual show will be held at Ski Hi Park and will feature more than 100 ag-related exhibits. Last year’s attendance was about 900 grower-days and show organizers are hoping to attract even more growers this year.

The Ag Trade Fair is managed by the Monte Vista Chamber of Commerce. A former chamber manager said, “Exhibitors come from many states. They bring the latest and greatest in agriculture to this show, especially potato production equipment and forage handling equipment.”

Exhibits range from machinery to products and services.

Last year’s exhibitors included water meters, electric suppliers, pivot controllers, trucks, seed companies, diesel engines, potato handling equipment, potato bags, potato seed, tools, crop consultants, cell phones, business band radios, irrigation pumps, storage controllers, storage insulation products; plus many local and national ag-chemical companies. “Even though the Trade Fair adds a lot to the conference, the focus of the conference is the slate of educational programs that include a wide variety of topics,” says Area Extension Agent, Merlin Dillon.

The keynote speaker on Wednesday afternoon is sponsored by Farm Credit. The keynote speaker this year is Jack McCall. Audiences find Jack McCall’s presentations to be a refreshing departure from technical burnout and information overload.

Jack McCall helps businesses and individuals perform more effectively in a world marked by constant pressure and accelerated change. His insights are penetrating and his style is refreshingly entertaining. Jack’s skill for getting to the heart of the matter is uncanny.

His humor is crisp and clean and he never creates laughter at the expense of his audience.

A second special speaker this year is Gary Zimmer of Wisconsin, speaking Thursday afternoon on “Systematically Building Soil Health.” Gary represents a company that provides products, services and consulting for biological and sustainable agriculture.

SLV Area Extension organizes this conference and tries to include a broad range of topics important to crop and livestock production in the San Luis Valley.

For more information call Merlin Dillon or Rob Davidson at SLV Research Center (754-3494 x12).