Ag forum planned Tuesday in Kalispell

 The Montana Land Reliance will sponsor an agricultural forum in Kalispell on Oct. 11 featuring collaborative organizations and a variety of speakers dedicated to the perpetuation of a sustained agricultural economy in the region and the Flathead Valley.

“The forum will examine three critical factors required for the continued viability of farming including the need to ensure we have farmland available for future production, the requirement for economic success for farmers, and finally, the need to encourage and support young farmers,” according to a press release for the event at the Flathead County Fairgrounds.

Speakers for the event, which will be held from 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., will include Mark Lalum, general manager of Cenex Harvest States; Ron De Yong, director of the Montana Department of Agriculture; Markus Braaten, Cenex Harvest States; Dr. Luther Talbert, Montana State University College of Agriculture; Dr. Nora Smith, assistant dean of MSU College of Agriculture; and Mark Schiltz, western manager of the Montana Land Reliance.

The event is open to the public at no charge and it will be attended by 50 vocational agriculture students from the Flathead Valley. After the program, there will be a lunch of locally grown food.