F.A.C.T. event held in Ulysses

The twelfth annual Farmers, Agriculture, Conservation and Technology Conference was held Wednesday and Thursday at the Grant County Civic Center in Ulysses.

The 2010 conference was unlike years past. The conference reached a larger crowd, had more vendors participate, and a radio program, Ag Talk, broadcasted live. For the first time in 11 years, the agriculture conference was held outside of Liberal. Previously the conference had been at the Seward County Events Center.

"It was suggested to move and try another location to get more people from Northern Kansas and parts of Colorado," said Judith Creed conference coordinator. "Some have followed us from Liberal and some haven't."

Acting Kansas Secretary of Agriculture Josh Svaty was the keynote speaker Wednesday at the 12th annual Farmers, Agriculture, Conservation and Technology Conference. Svaty spoke on agriculture regulation and what Kansas lawmakers must do to make federal regulations most beneficial to Kansas. The conference was held at the Grant County Civic Center in Ulysses. Photo by Laura Eastes

Liberal Visitors Bureau Director Sally Fuller said the loss of the conference will not hurt local hospitality revenue. The F.A.C.T. Conference attracts mostly regional people and motels recorded a low number in bookings. In addition, the conference provided a lunch and beverages. She estimated not many conference attendees purchased food in town.

Director of the Grant County Chamber of Commerce Marita Hauser said Ulysses did see a boost to their local economy.

“Anytime we can gather several hundred in our community there is going to be dollar turn over,” said Hauser. “I know there were several overnighters in lodging and some meals consumed that would of otherwise not been. That is a boost to our economy.”

On Wednesday, an estimated 200 people passed through the vendor showroom and attended numerous breakout sessions throughout the day.

"I think it was a good turn out," said Hauser. "I did visit with one of the committee members and he thought we were pretty close to and above to what attendance was in the past. I am happy about that. Anytime we can gather people from all across the state to our area that says something."

Chuck Nicholson, a farmer from Dodge City, said the crowd was larger than what he saw at the past three F.A.C.T. conferences in Liberal. Nicholson agreed with the move and liked the idea of new people attending the conference.

Acting Kansas Secretary of Agriculture Josh Svaty said he encourages and supports agriculture conferences, no matter the location.

“It is good for producers to exchange ideas,” said Svaty. “It is good to hear what's going on in the industry. I think that is pretty important to the producers.”

Svaty was the keynote speaker for the conference and spoke in front of about 200 people on industry regulation. In his speech, Svaty explained Kansas has a relatively low state population and only has four congressional representatives. Lawmakers must fight to be a part of discussions and decisions.

"We don't call the shots in D.C.,” said Svaty. “We can either figure out how to get a seat at the table or we get cut out of every conversation. You don't want to get cut out of the conversation. It is not good enough to say 'no we don't want it' and hope the problem will go away. We've got to have a seat at the table.”

Kansas has a powerful agriculture component that can be used to obtain a seat, said Svaty.

"We are the critical bread basket for the world,” said Svaty. “We need to remember that we can negotiate regulations and regulatory environments. We hold a certain power. We live in a very vital place that is important to the rest of the world and we can never forget that.”

Svaty was one of twenty speakers for the two-day event. Other speakers spoke on a variety of topics including tillage practices, new crops, soil irrigation, ethanol, water rights and energy grant information.

Many of the participants attended to fulfill a Certified Crop Adviser certificate issued by the American Society of Agronomy. Certified producers are able to advise growers on agronomic practices. Every two years a certificate holder must complete 40 hours of continued education.

“I needed it for my continued education for my business but my desire is to pick up one thing that I can take back and will impact my farm and operations,” said Nicholson.

Within Wednesday's morning secession, Nicholson believed he had already benefited.

"The last (session) answered a question of mine of why I have issues with waste water,” said Nicholson. “My farm is done using waste water so I have some speciality things that effect my farm as opposed to most people. I think I just got an answer to a question of mine."

For full story please see Friday's Times

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