Sidney community assembles for annual MonDak Ag Days

SIDNEY — The Sidney community gathered at the Richland County Event Center for the MonDak Ag Days and Trade Show March 5-7. This weekend was facilitated by the Sidney Area Chamber of Commerce and Agriculture who organized the educational sessions, the meals and administrative minutiae of the merrymakings.

The weekend began on March 5 with a series of afternoon educational sessions. All fascinated by improving management of white mold in pinto beans and soy beans were in luck Thursday in the opening session; this was followed by an estate planning session and one focused on the cattle and beef market situation deep-dive to conclude the first day.

The marquee day of the weekend was March 6, which began with a customer appreciation breakfast courtesy of Farm Bureau Financial Services. Over 50 vendors were present for the ongoing trade show on Friday, equipped with literature, branded tchotchkes and an alacrity to share their story with the community that filtered through the dozens of booths throughout the day.

Friday morning also consisted of a pair of pedagogical sessions, with a Montana weed management update and one on the supplementation and use of salt. Free-will lunch was then provided by Sidney FFA, giving way to the Lunch and Learn, featuring Representative Morgan Thiel.

Hydrogeologist Sara Edinburg of the MBMG Ground Water Assessment Program took to the dais during the Lunch and Learn to discuss the nonregulatory, applied research of the Montana Bureau of Mines and Geology, a department of Montana Tech, exploring the Fox Hills/Hell Creek aquifer.

Between the Lunch and Learn and the pitchfork fondue dinner were another trio of educational sessions. A pulse crop pest and disease survey program for eastern Montana rundown followed, and then the Richland County Event Center opened the floodgates Friday afternoon for a pair of water-forward sessions to put a bow on the day. Maximizing the value of water and Fort Peck dam test flow updates were at the forefront of the final two seminars preceding the evening meal.

The Friday night entertainment was provided by widely renowned comedian Tim Harmston before a Saturday morning customer appreciation breakfast via Butler Ag sent the community on their way.

Fans of free food, comedy, community engagement, improving management of white mold in pinto beans and soy beans, or situated anywhere on the Venn diagram were afforded a dream weekend at the Richland County Event Center that invited the community as a whole to join, to share, to learn, and to eat.