Wheat Scoop: Conference Celebrates Women Farmers

In an industry traditionally dominated by men, women have a strong and growing presence in U.S. agriculture. In fact, more and more women are choosing to own and manage their own farms. At the 2010 Women Managing the Farm Conference in Wichita, the ultimate goal was to provide women with the tools they need to remain sustainable.

The 6th Annual Women Managing the Farm Conference, held February 5-6, was planned to give insight to women about managing their farm investment. Over the course of the two-day conference, nearly 300 women heard presentations concerning financial tips, estate and tax planning, farm safety, soil and crop rotation, water rights, long-term care insurance and how to get organized.

The Kansas Wheat Commission provided financial support and leadership on the Women Managing the Farm Conference planning committee. Cindy Falk, nutrition educator for Kansas Wheat, says networking with women attending the conference was yet another benefit to attending the 6th annual Conference. “Farm women who are helping to grow the nation’s food supply are excellent advocates for agriculture and are being recognized more and more for their contribution to agriculture,” Falk says.

DeeAnn Roths farms with her husband on their corn, wheat, soybean and cattle operation near Andale. Roths participates in the marketing and financial aspects of the farm.

“The conference was valuable from so many standpoints,” Roths said. “It was a unique situation to participate with women who see the value and importance of learning ways they can impact issues affecting today’s agriculture.”

Sessions were designed to keep women informed of the latest advancements in the farming community and networking sessions were tailored to agricultural partners, independent producers, helpers, absentee landowners, industry career women, business managers and women with family in the military.

The workshop, “He Said, She Said: Exploring how men and women communicate”, presented by Marsha Purcell, director of program development for the American Farm Bureau Federation, covered the conversational gender differences that start in early childhood and affect the productivity in the workplace.

“Our challenge is to get to know other individuals, value them and learn to work with them,” Purcell said.

Kyle Bauer, general manager of KFRM Radio, 550 AM, encourages women and men to share their agricultural stories at home, in the community or with strangers. Whether communicating with the person in urban America or the guy farming your land, communicating can be challenging, but is vitally important.

“Everyone in agriculture has opportunities to share his or her story,” Bauer said.

According to the 2007 Census of Agriculture, the number of women who were the principal operators of a farm or ranch increased by almost 30%, to 306,209 operators. A principal operator is termed as the person in charge of the day-to-day decisions for the farm or ranch. Women are now the principal operators of 14% of the nation’s 2.2 million farms. In Kansas, women are the principal operators of 7,943 farms.

Kansas State University’s College of Agriculture illustrates the growing interest and participation of women in agriculture. Forty eight percent of the students enrolled in the College of Agriculture are women.