Rural Energy Conference set for Feb. 22-23 in St. Paul

Posted 1/31/01

Rural Energy Conference set for Feb. 22-23 in St. Paul

Robotic milking and generating electricity from livestock manure are among the agenda topics at an upcoming conference in St. Paul.

The 39th Annual Rural Energy Conference will be Feb. 22-23 at the Ramada Inn and Conference Center at 1870 Old Hudson Road in St. Paul.

The conference is designed for electric utility officials, electricians, educators, rural electric cooperative board members and others interested in rural energy. It's sponsored by the Midwest Rural Energy Council, a non-profit organization of investor-owned utilities and rural electric cooperatives in Minnesota and Wisconsin.

Members include utilities in Iowa, Minnesota and Wisconsin; representatives from the Universities of Minnesota and Wisconsin; government officials; educators; equipment dealers; and individual members.

Topics will include investigations of electrical phenomena on farms, anaerobic digesters for producing electricity from livestock manure, farmers in distress, robotic milking, agricultural lighting, dairy expansion and deregulationís impact on rural areas.

There will be presentations on related topics currently under investigation at the universities of Minnesota and Wisconsin.

There will also be an update on the stray voltage complaint to the Michigan Public Service Commission.

The conference will include an evening tour of the Bakken Museum of Electricity in Life in Minneapolis.

An Internet web site at www.mrec.org/confer.html has a copy of the conference brochure and additional information.

For registration information, contact the Wisconsin College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS) at (608) 263-1672. The MREC was founded in 1954 to initiate, develop, support and coordinate education, research, and communication regarding rural energy issues.