Advancing the LGU mission through collaboration and communication
Join your colleagues in the North Central Region for a live, in-person experience on Monday, July 10 and Tuesday, July 11, 2023. The conference, hosted by the University of Minnesota, is open to all faculty, staff, administrators, CARET representatives, and others who support the land-grant mission in the North Central Region.
Meeting purpose/objectives
The North Central Region's Mini Land-Grant Conference intends to build relationships among CARET representatives and LGU research, extension and teaching administrators to foster potential interdisciplinary partnerships and build networking opportunities among administrative leaders within the North Central Region.
This year’s conference theme is "Advancing the LGU mission through collaboration and communication." The conference will feature interactive presentations at the University of Minnesota’s St Paul campus and the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum.
Agenda
Monday, July 10, 2023 - Minnesota Landscape Arboretum, Chaska MN

- 11:30 a.m. Registration at the DoubleTree by Hilton Bloomington
- 12:30 p.m. Load bus to Minnesota Landscape Arboretum (boxed lunch provided during bus ride)
- 1:15 p.m. Sessions
- Communicating the Value of Food Systems to the Public
- Communicating the Value of Plant Breeding Research
- Communicating Climate-Smart Resilience and Adaptation for NC US
- Networking time & free venture touring of Minnesota Landscape Arboretum
- 5:00 p.m. Welcome Reception & Dinner
- 6:30 p.m. Load bus back to hotel
Tuesday, July 11, 2023 - Minnesota Agricultural Experiment Station, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN

- 8:00 a.m. Load bus (Doubletree to St Paul campus)
- 8:45 a.m. Breakfast on the St. Paul campus
- 9:00 a.m. Cultivating sustainable dairy production across the NC Region
- 9:30 a.m. Break/prepare to go outdoors—guided walking tour with wagon ride option
- 9:45 a.m. Collaborating to create resilient small grains systems
- 11:00 a.m. Renewable energy advances to fuel the future
- 12:00 Lunch & closing comments
- 1:00 p.m. AES/Extension/CARET representatives meetings
- 3:00 Adjournment
- Shuttle provided back to Doubletree Bloomington after meetings
Registration
Registration is open now and costs $300 per person. Please register at the link below.
Register to attend the Mini Land-Grant Conference
Lodging
Book your stay at the Doubletree by Hilton Bloomington - Minneapolis South in our room block for the conference, before the cutoff of June 19, 2023. We will provide coach bus shuttles to and from this hotel to the sites on the conference agenda. Rooms are blocked for the nights of July 9, 10 and 11, 2023.
Hotel amenities include complimentary surface parking lot and airport shuttle to MSP Airport.
Book your hotel room in the conference room block
Questions? For questions regarding conference registration, please contact Betsy Wieland (eliza003@umn.edu). For questions regarding conference content, please contact Joleen Hadrich (jhadrich@umn.edu) and Michael Schmitt (schmi009@umn.edu).
Frequently Asked Questions
Where should I stay?
Out-of-town guests should stay at the Doubletree by Hilton Bloomington - Minneapolis South.
Book your stay at the Doubletree by Hilton Bloomington - Minneapolis South in our room block for the conference, by the cutoff date of June 19, 2023. We will provide coach bus shuttles to and from this hotel to the sites on the conference agenda. Rooms are blocked for the nights of July 9, 10 and 11, 2023.
Hotel amenities include complimentary surface parking lot and airport shuttle to MSP Airport.
What is there to do outside of the conference agenda?
Visit the Twin Cities and see what all the fuss is about! The following activities are in close proximity to the conference hotel and St. Paul campus:
Things to do near the conference hotel (Doubletree Bloomington)
- Take the hotel's free shuttle to the Mall of America
- Take the Blue Line lightrail or rideshare into Minneapolis - there are more things to do than we can list here!
Things to do near the St. Paul campus
- Grab some University of Minnesota-made ice cream in the Gopher Spot in the St. Paul Student Center
- Visit the Bell Museum, Minnesota's official natural history museum, located on the north end of our St. Paul campus.
- Take the Campus Connector bus (stops outside of the St. Paul Student Center) to our East Bank campus to check out Coffman Memorial Union, the Weisman Art Museum, and a view of the Mississippi River from the Washington Ave Bridge.
- Try out a Kernza® beer at Bang Brewing, a taproom and brewery inside a grain bin near the St. Paul campus.