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Midwest Women in Agriculture Conference

Kelly Easterday

Summary

The Midwest Women in Agriculture conference was designed to meet the needs of women in agriculture by addressing the personal, family, and farm issues that affect their lives, their families, and their farm businesses. Women play major roles in making their family farms profitable and ensuring the emotional well-being of their farm families. To assist women with these needs, a team of Purdue Extension educators has sponsored this conference annually since 2002. The conference has empowered over 450 women and men from six states over the past four years, giving them the tools they need to make decisions about their family farms. Success of a one day conference merited an expansion to a two day event in 2003. Topics at the conference addressed such issues as: stress reduction, differences between men and women, agricultural products marketing, financial planning for later life, farming without a spouse, rural-urban relations, diversified agriculture, insurance, landscaping, tax tips, passing on the family farm, conflict management, working with a farm lender, the future of agriculture and small-scale agriculture enterprise development among other topics. Women reported by attending the conference increased confidence, morale, motivation, and support from others dealing with similar issues. The conference has also helped women to define their role in making the farm profitable and to build a network of support.

Details

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