SPEARFISH - Farm and ranch women from across South Dakota discussed everything from home-canning techniques to bred heifer conception rates during the 7th annual Women in Ag conference Friday and Saturday in Spearfish.

"Our goal is to educate women about issues in the agricultural community," said Julia Davis, a cow-calf producer from Harding County who was on the conference committee. "So that means economic issues, of course, but also issues about family and communication, too."

Family communication often includes intergenerational issues when it comes to planning how to pass farm and ranches from one generation to the next, Davis said. Speaker Joy KirkPatrick presented a session, "In-laws, Outlaws and No Good Brothers: How to Start the Succession Discussion and What to Do When You Open the Floodgates." Other speakers included Larry Swain, an adjunct professor of entrepreneurship, who spoke on "Entrepreneur Your Way to Success," and Malcom Chapman on "Where Every Kid Counts."

During a round-table lunch session on Saturday, some of the 56 conference participants, who hailed mostly from West River ranching operations but also included about 10 to 15 women from East River farms, discussed how to better control operating expenses, in their household budgets as well as in their ag operations.

Farmers and ranchers have always economized, said Joyce Haak, a farm wife from Howard, so finding ways to save money in today's bad economy is nothing new to most of them.

The women traded tips on how to spend less on groceries: buy in bulk, plan meals in advance and preserve garden produce by canning, freezing and drying.

They also shared ways their operations are attempting to control rising fuel and fertilizer costs. Some of them reduce oil-based fertilizers and herbicides by having soils tested to determine exact fertilizer needs or choosing alternative crops that better match the soil or require less fertilizer.

Mary Nagel, who ranches near Gettysburg, said they plant cover crops of turnips and radishes on land compacted by cattle grazing, allowing the livestock to eat the cover crop while the root vegetables aerate and improve the soil.

For more information on Women in Ag, visit their Web site at www.sdwia.org.