DALTON, Ohio — Managing the farm under drought conditions will be among the topics covered at the 2013 North Central Ohio Dairy Grazing Conference January 24-25, 2013, at the Buckeye Event Center in Dalton.

The conference will open with a presentation by Mark Martin of Shiloh, Martin  will be discussing his grazing dairy in his presentation “Why I Graze.” Following Martin will be Edwin Blosser of Tampico, Ill., with a presentation on “What is the Value of Humus to Your Farm?”

The morning will conclude with a choice of three breakout sessions: “Dry to Freshening” with Dr. Travis Thompson, “What you Need to Know About Fencing” with Bob Hendershot and “Sharing Farmers’ Numbers and Schedule F” with Emery Miller.

The afternoon session opens with a Young Farmers Panel featuring Nelson Zimmerman of Ashland, Aaron Nolt of Nova, Leon Yoder of Butler and Jeff Miller of Dundee. The afternoon will conclude with a choice of three breakout sessions: “How to Compost” with Edwin Blosser, “Fall Annuals and Drought Solutions” with Bob Hendershot and a Financial Insight roundtable discussion.

The second day of the conference opens with presentations by William R. Yoder of Butler and David Miller Jr. of Sugarcreek, sharing the differences and similarities in their farming operations. Ben Bartlett of Traunik, Mich., will be on the schedule Jan. 25 to discuss “The Power of Managing Holistically” and “A Blueprint for Successfully Grazing.”

The afternoon will include a choice of three breakout sessions: “Managing Drought: Options and Issues” with Ben Bartlett, “What Water System” with Bob Hendershot and “Taking Advantage of Grassfed Branding and Adding Income to the Farm” by Jesse Meerman of Coopersville, Mich.

The afternoon will conclude with a panel discussion on “Surviving Hard Times: When to Be Frugal and When to Spend” by Meerman, Henry and Clarence Yoder and David Miller.

The deadline for registrations is Jan. 17. Cost of the conference is $50 for the first person from each farm and $45 for each additional person from the farm if made before Jan. 18. Participants may also register for a single day at a cost of $40. After that, registrations may be made at the door and the cost is $65 for both days or $55 for a single day.

The conference fee includes meals, breaks, registration and the vendor show. Checks should be made payable to the Small Farm Institute and mailed to: P.O. Box 214, Millersburg, Ohio 44654.