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Building Participation and Sponsorship through New and Diverse Audiences

Jennifer Jensen

Summary

Empowering the women of rural America through regional and statewide conferences has gained a strong precedence through Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Services. In recent years, interest in programs targeted to women in Oklahoma agriculture has been growing. A successful two day statewide conference was held in 2010 for approximately 100 participants. In 2011, several county and multi-county one day workshops were attended by 50-200 women per site. Most recently, nearly 200 highly motivated participants attended the 2012 statewide conference. Increasing participation, especially through new and diverse audiences, has been a top priority. These audiences include small business owners, female entrepreneurs, urban groups, and minority producers. Our efforts include attending a monthly networking breakfast for small business owners and entrepreneurs, developing specialty crop and food safety workshops for Asian ethnic and Native American producers, and coordinating and encouraging Hispanic participation in an Annie’s Project class.

In addition to participants, Oklahoma Women in Agriculture has also actively sought and encouraged agricultural organizations to hold their educational outreach meetings in conjunction with our statewide conference. For example, in 2012 American Farmers and Ranchers sponsored 14 of their members to attend the conference, while five agricultural lending institutions sponsored six or more participants to attend. In return, the businesses were advertised as sponsors. Through concentrated efforts on communication, coordination and cross-promotion with partners, we continue to reach diverse participants and offer risk management programs that provide strength, resilience, and adaptability for women, minorities, seniors, and transitional producers.

Details

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