Calendar of Events

By DICK HAGEN

The Land Staff Writer Emeritus

MINNEAPOLIS — Meet Minnesota’s State FFA President. Her name is Emily Matejka. “I’m a sophomore at South Dakota State University majoring in Ag Communications,” she said. “My ambitions are to continue an agricultural career — be that in mar- Emily Matejka keting, ag economics, communications. I’m not really certain at this stage. Suffice to say, I am rapidly learning that American agriculture is an ever-expanding dimension.”

Matejka admitted she was pleased to hear membership in FFA is growing. “The past two years we’ve seen the second-largest membership growth of any state in America. We were previously around that 10,000-11,000 mark, but we’ve now jumped to just over 12,600 members. Partly that’s because we’ve sprouted about nine new FFA chapters in the state. And that stems from the growing desire for continuing education in our society as a whole.”

Matejka credits existing ag instructors for much of the growth. “Plus I sense more and more FFA alumni want to see younger folks in their communities learning about agriculture and the exciting careers ahead in many, many different fields of work,” she said. “Plus, it is really gratifying to see the added push from communities themselves — sensing the positive growth for their entire community if a vocational agriculture program becomes part of their local community school. It’s exciting what’s happening.”

With a couple of years left before graduating from college, Matejka isn’t making any plans for a graduate program. “At this time I’m possibly looking into it,” she admitted. “But I’m eagerly seeing how the rest of my Bachelor’s degree here at SDSU concurs. I’d love to jump right into my career — whatever that might be. We’ll just have to wait and see where the future takes me.”

While still in high school, Matejka’s Supervised Agricultural Experince project focused on agri-business; so she was employed at her local hardware store in Trimont. “That project entailed logging all the hours worked, all the special education that I learned through product knowledge I gained. Through that I was able to work myself up for Proficiency Application. That tagged along with my state degree application rewarded me with the ‘State Star in Business Degree’ at our recent Minnesota State FFA convention.

I commented Matejka sounded like a Dutch origin name; but she corrected me. “It’s Czechoslovakian … a European, Polish, Czech denomination I’m told. My family name goes back five or six generations and we still have some family with the home country.”

Recently home from the November National FFA Convention in Kansas City, Matejka reported 60,000 registered for that final session — an incredible twoday event bursting with the pride of thousands of American young guys and young gals choosing to enrich their lives with the leadership training inherent in FFA events across America. “It is an awesome experience for any and all who attend,” claimed Matejka. “I am so proud to be a part of our Minnesota delegation.”

Obviously, the future will be potentially huge for this young lady … generous in demeanor yet disciplined in achieving further accomplishments. And how about a job in Washington D.C.? “Yes,” Matejka confessed, “I’ve thought about that just a bit. I’m convinced FFA has given, and continues to give me, an exciting future. And I will do my best to earn it with dignity and appreciation for the gifts of my parents, my fellow students, my good Lord, and the thousands of friends continually adding zest into being an American.” v

Visit www.TheLandOnline.com to view our complete calendar & enter your own events, or send an e-mail with your event’s details to editor@thelandonline.com.

Dec. 4 — Christmas in the Village — Montevi-

deo, Minn. — Artisan booths, bake sale, old-fashioned radio show and a visit from Santa. Contact the Chippewa County Historical Society at chippewahistory@outlook.com or (320) 269-7636.

Dec. 7 — Annual GrainVantage Meeting —

Online — Gain insights into ag policy, learn about supply chain happenings in fertilizer and an update on carbon marketplace. Contact compeer.com/grainvantage or call (844-426-6733.

Dec. 7-9 — Crop and Pest Managment Short-

course — Minneapolis, Minn. — Trade show and sessions including corn rootworm, chlorpyrifos replacements, waterhemp control, gall midge and soybean agronomics. Visit https://mcpr-cca.org/ for more information.

Dec. 8 —Farmland Rental Workshop — Litch-

field, Minn. — Topics include local historic and projected farmland rental rate trends, current farmland values and sales, and a worksheet that will help determine a fair rental agreement. Contact Dave Bau at bauxx003@umn.edu or (507) 360-0664.

Dec. 8 —Farmland Rental Workshop — Olivia,

Minn. — Contact Dave Bau at bauxx003@umn.edu or (507) 360-0664.

Dec. 9 — Agricultural Market Situation and Out-

look Webinar — Online — Hear from North Dakota State University Extension economics specialists on a variety of timely issues related to agricultural markets. Contact david.ripplinger@ndsu.edu.

Dec. 10 — Crop Management Input Seminar —

Hutchinson, Minn. — Topics include weed control; improving fertilizer return on investment; managing corn rootworm; and markets. Contact Karen Johnson at ande9495@umn.edu or (320) 484-4303

Dec. 11 — FEAST! Festival — Rochester, Minn. — 100 regional food businesses on display. Most use locally-grown ingredients. Contact Elena Byrne at elena@rtcinfo.org or (608) 712-8340

Dec. 11 — Dairy Goat Management Program —

Orange City, Iowa — Program will focus on dairy goat housing and ventilation, milking equipment maintenance, milk quality and milk efficiency. Contact Fred Hall at fredhall@iastate.edu or (712) 737-4230.

Dec. 14 & 15 — Soil Management Summit —

Mankato, Minn. — The Summit features presentations and Q&A sessions with researchers, farmers and agricultural advisors, information from sponsors and conversations with farmers experienced in different soil health practices. Contact Jodi DeJong-Hughes at dejon003@umn.edu

Jan. 21 & 22 —Farm Couple Retreat — Faribault,

Minn. — Learn about creative communication skills, personality differences, and resources to help each couple reach their goals and attain better management of the stresses of farming and family relationships. Learn how to communicate with your partner and children more effectively and enjoy a mini-vacation as a couple from the farm. Contact Leah M Bischof at leahbischof@gmail.com or (320) 4290611.

Jan. 21 & 22 — Practical Farmers of Iowa annual

conference — Ames, Iowa — 61 sessions featuring farmers as presenters discussing organic field crops, small grains, horticulture, livestock and on-farm habitat. Contact Tamsyn Jones at tamsyn@practicalfarmers.org or (515) 232-5661.

Feb. 4 & 5 — Farm Couple Retreat — St. Cloud,

Minn. — Contact Leah M Bischof at leahbischof@ gmail.com or (320) 429-0611.

Feb. 11 & 12 — Farm Couple Retreat — Thief

River Falls, Minn. — Contact Leah M Bischof at leahbischof@gmail.com or (320) 429-0611.

Feb. 15 & 16 — 2022 Minnesota Pork Congress

— Mankato, Minn. — The state’s largest swine-specific trade show features exhibits, seminars and networking. Contact Lauren at lauren@mnpork.com.