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National Results of Annie’s Project Courses for Farm/Ranch Women, 2013-2015

Madeline Schultz, Mandi Anderson, and Cori Hyde

Summary

The presenters will discuss the risk management results farm/ranch women achieved through their participation in Annie’s Project courses. Annie’s Project is an 18-hour multi-session course designed to empower farm/ranch women to be better business partners and owners by focusing on agricultural risk management. The Research Institute for Studies in Education (RISE) at Iowa State University conducted third-party evaluation of the effectiveness of Annie’s Project courses. Surveys were developed by RISE in conjunction with Annie’s Project leaders to measure changes in knowledge levels and actions taken in the risk areas of financial, legal, human resources, marketing, and production. Aggregated national data from 2013 to 2015 were analyzed by topic area with pre- and post- course survey comparisons. Follow-up surveys were also collected. To protect respondent identity, participants were assigned ID codes anonymously for matching pre- and post-course surveys. Farm/ranch women completed surveys on-line or with a printed version of the on-line surveys. RISE staff members entered all paper survey data to ensure accuracy. Respondents rated their knowledge level on a four-point scale. They also indicated whether they had taken an action, planned to take the action or did not plan to. Groups of questions, or constructs, were evaluated in each of the five areas of risk. The evaluation results indicate the Annie’s Project courses were successful in achieving the goals of improving the knowledge of farm/ranch women in the five areas of agricultural risk management. Furthermore, Annie’s Project courses empowered women to take important actions towards managing risks on their farms/ranches.

Details

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