The NDSU Extension Center for Community Vitality will conduct agri-tourism workshops at two locations in February. They are scheduled for Feb. 10 at the McKenzie County Courthouse in Watford City, N.D., and Feb. 12 at NDSU's Carrington Research Extension Center. Registration starts at 9:30 a.m. and the programs run from 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

The workshops are designed for individuals interested in starting a farm- or ranch-based tourism business in North Dakota. Topics will be tourism trends and business opportunities; assets for tourism in rural North Dakota; educational vacations; finances; and the legal, liability and health considerations.

Speakers include center director Kathleen Tweeten; Sara Otte-Coleman, Fred Walker and Annette Schilling of the North Dakota Division of Tourism; Tom Isern, NDSU history professor and author of the "Plains Folk" newspaper column; Kayla Effertz of the North Dakota Division of Workforce Development; Gene Veeder, executive director of the McKenzie County Job Development Authority; and Mike Walton and Mary Ann Klosterman of the North Dakota Health Department.

The registration deadline is Feb. 6. The cost before the deadline is $15 per person, plus $10 for each additional person from the same organization or family. The registration fee at the door is $25. A registration form is available at www.ag.ndsu.edu/ccv/happenings.htm.

Send the completed registration form and a check payable to the NDSU Extension Service to NDSU Extension Center for Community Vitality, 2718 Gateway Ave., #104, Bismarck, ND 58503.

For more information, contact Tweeten at (701) 328-9718 or kathleen.tweeten@ndsu.edu.