Dear NFRBMEA Members & Friends,

It is again the time of the year for you to begin to make plans to attend the 31st Annual NFRBMEA Conference. This year's conference will be held in Minot, North Dakota June 8-12, 2003 at the International Inn. The North Dakota FBM teachers look forward to hosting the conference and invite you to join us in the Peace Garden State and discover Roughrider Country.

Minot, located in the north central part of North Dakota, is the fourth largest city in the state and offers a variety of agriculture and attractions. It is home of the North Dakota State Fair, a United States Air Force Base, and the Norsk Hostfest, which is billed as “North America's largest Scandinavian festival”. Minot is also a major agriculture and trading area in the state. Dark Northern Spring Wheat, Durum, Barley, Canola, Sunflowers, and Flax are the principal crops grown, along with beef cow/calf operations. Good highways serve Minot, with US 2 the major east-west route and US 83 & US 52 the major north-south routes. For those of you who may be planning to fly, Minot is served by NW Airlines and for those of you who are looking to take a less stressful route to Minot, Amtrak has daily service. Minot also offers excellent camping facilities to those of you who plan to go this route and explore North Dakota up close.

The themes of this year's conference are “Reaching Beyond our borders”and “Discovering Lewis and Clark Country”. Our planning committee has put together a conference to expand your knowledge on our agriculture industry and learn how your producers can compete better in the world, along with joining us in celebrating the beginning of the bicentennial of the Lewis and Clark Expedition into the new land of our country.

This year's conference is built around you, as an adult agriculture educator, and how you can better prepare your students in competing in the world market. Dr. Daryll Ray, Director of Ag Policy at the University of Tennessee and nationally known authority on US Agriculture Policy and world trade issues will enlighten you on how the agriculture program we are now working under is going to affect your producers, and what they will need to do to remain on the cutting edge of competition. You will be offered a variety of speakers on a number of topics from a panel discussion on developing markets beyond state and country borders, to educational carousels with topics such as crop insurance, GMO, and distance learning education. We are planning to highlight our area agribusiness with tours of the production, processing, and manufacturing found in this area.

As with any work, one must find time to play as well, and for this you will “Discover Lewis and Clark Country”. Merriweather Lewis and William Clark and their expeditionary force spent more time in North Dakota than any other state they visited during their time of discovery of the new land purchased within the Louisiana Purchase. You will have an opportunity to visit the Knife River Indian Village where some of the earliest agriculture in the area can be found, the Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center to get a feel for what they were faced with on their journey to the Pacific, and Fort Mandan, one of the earliest forts established in the territory. You will also hear from “Sakakawea”, Ms. Amy Mossett, on what life was like during this time period.

Family and spouses will have plenty to do. The area has many activities to offer, from exploring the many shops to numerous parks and recreational activities.

We encourage all of you to review the information in your packets when they arrive in early February and return your registrations early. Once again, we are offering an Early Bird Registration and an opportunity to be included for our drawing.

President Theodore Roosevelt once stated, “I never would have been President if it had not been for my experiences in North Dakota.”

“Discover the Spirit” and join us in North Dakota!

—Your 2003 Conference Hosts