The 2019 Bottom Line Conference will be held at the Kearny County Fairgrounds, just a mile west of Lakin, KS on August 14-15, 2019.  The two day event will have dozens of presentations, ranging from topics on money management, soil health, grazing strategies, farm programs, and more.  As always, the focus of the Bottom Line Conference is profitability through soil and water conservation in a dry climate.  If you farm or ranch in a dry climate, you will want to be there.

Keynote speakers are Dallas Mount, Dale Stricker, Mary Jo Irmen and Nick Vos. Additional presenters include: Michael Thompson, Lucinda Hardesty, Alan Vynalek, Candy Thomas, Playa Lakes Joint Venture, and representatives from FSA, RMA and NRCS.  During breaks you will have the chance to visit the booths in the noteworthy trade show as well.

Dallas Mount has been teaching Ranching For Profit since 2012 and runs his own cattle operation in Wyoming.  He will be speaking on profitability for farms and ranches, specifically how to determine what is working on the farm/ranch and why the financial statement might be misleading. 

Dale Strickler is an agronomist who grew up on a farm in Kansas.  He will be tackling tough questions like “Do cover crops work in arid regions like western Kansas?” Dale will share strategies that help create drought resilient soils to better take and hold the rain we do get, capture run-off, grow deeper roots, and greatly improve moisture use efficiency.   

Mary Jo Irmen grew up on a farm/ranch operation in North Dakota and is the author of the book, “Farming Without the Bank”.  She has been consulting farmers for nearly 10 years on how to finance operational expenses, increase profitability, reduce debt, and gain the advantage of a tax-free retirement.

Nick Vos is a no-till farmer in Stevens County, Kansas and Texas County, Oklahoma.  .  In his talk titled “Is Moisture Really What Is Keeping Us From Change?”, Nick shares how he quit overusing fertilizer, started using cover crops and created higher margins for his operation.  His soil health practices now enjoy cost savings in fertilizer and chemical expenses, better nutrient cycling and water holding capacity, improved water infiltration, and most importantly, higher margins.

Breakout sessions at the 2019 Bottom Line Conference will cover topics including rotational grazing, water infiltration, government programs, grazing sheep, profitability, cover crops, and much more.  This conference is a must-attend event for any farmers and ranchers who want to improve their profitability and their soil health in a dry climate.