The 2021 Iowa Farm Bureau Federation (IFBF) Young Farmers Conference is being held Jan. 30 in three locations — Carroll, Des Moines and Coralville — to help maintain social distancing requirements during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Our 2021 conference will of­­fer young farmers across Iowa the opportunity to participate at one of three conference locations across the state,” said Mary Foley Balvanz, IFBF leadership training manager. “That will allow us to safely deliver the information, education and peer interaction that young Farm Bur­­eau members have come to expect from our well-attended conference.” 

The 2021 Young Farmers Conference will feature Jeff Havens as the keynote speaker. He’ll talk about finding serious solutions and overcoming business challenges, and will do it in a seriously funny way. 

Another highlight of the conference will be remarks by Zach Johnson, known as the Minnesota Millennial Farmer. A fifth-generation farmer, Johnson blends an appreciation for new technology and old-fashioned hard work and discusses techniques to build sustainable dialogues between farmers and consumers.

The conference will also feature breakout sessions on a range of subjects, including cutting-edge technologies, new ag opportunities and financial management techniq­ues to help young farmers grow their op­­erations and succeed.

Each of the three loc­­ations of the 2021 IFBF Young Farmers Conference will have both live and live-streamed presentations. All sessions will also be recorded and will be available on www.iowafarmbureau.com after the conference. 

Western Iowa young farmers will attend the session in Carroll at the Carrollton Inn. Central Iowa young farmers will gather at the Community Choice Credit Union Convention Center in downtown Des Moines. Eastern Iowa farmers will meet at the Marriott Conference Center in Coralville.

(The graphic below shows the breakdown, by county, of which of locations that participants should attend.)

The Young Farmers Discussion Meet competition, sponsored by Altorfer CAT and Ziegler CAT, will take place Jan. 29 in Des Moines. Results will be an­­nounced Jan. 30 at all three locations.

Registrations for the 2021 IFBF Young Farmers Conference open Dec. 1. To register, contact your county Farm Bureau office.