Winter Classes Scheduled For Women In Agriculture

By Madeline Schultz

Courses with practical information for women farmers offered across the state

Farm women have important management roles in Iowa agriculture, with responsibilities ranging from agriculture business management and grain marketing to farm transition planning. Iowa State University Extension and Outreach provides research-based educational programs for Iowa women farmers through the Women in Agriculture program. Registration is now open for classes in nine Iowa counties at http://www.aep.iastate.edu/womeninag/.

“Farm women are directly impacting Iowa’s economy to the tune of nearly 500 million dollars a year,” said Madeline Schultz, ISU Extension and Outreach Women in Agriculture program manager. “Women value educational programs that help them juggle farming and non-farming careers, work with family/partners and operate profitable businesses.”

Three courses are currently open for registration: Annie’s Project: Farm Business Management, Women Marketing Grain, and Managing for Today and Tomorrow: Farm Transition Planning.  

Farm business management course

Annie’s Project: Farm Business Management is a six-session farm management course for women. Topics include financial, human resources, legal, marketing and production. It is the agricultural business education program that empowers farm and ranch women who want to be even more knowledgeable about their agricultural businesses.

•     Jan. 16 – Sac City. Sac County Extension Office, 620 Park Ave

•     Jan. 25 – Creston. Southwest Community College, 1501 W Townline St

•     Jan. 26 – Onawa. Monona County Extension Office, 119 Iowa Ave

•     Feb. 4 – Humboldt. Humboldt County Extension Office, 727 Sumner Ave

•     Feb. 8 – West Des Moines. Des Moines Area Community College, 5959 Grand Ave

•     March 17 – Waukon. Location to be announced

Grain marketing course

Women Marketing Grain encourages development of crop marketing plans with price, time and financial goals in mind. The goal of this four-session course is to improve participants’ price risk management skills by enhancing their knowledge of marketing principles and risk management tools. Topics include contracts, online decision-making tools, crop insurance and price movements.

•     Feb. 8 – Marshalltown. Iowa Valley Continuing Education, 3702 S Center St

Farm transitioning course

Managing for Today and Tomorrow: Farm Transition Planning guides women and their families in making good generational transition decisions. This is a five-session course. Topics include business, estate, retirement and succession planning.

•     Feb. 1 – Gilbert. Gilbert High School, 312 Gretten St
•     March 10 – Tipton. Cedar County Extension Office, 107 Cedar St

Registration for all courses is available online at http://www.aep.iastate.edu/womeninag/. Course fee is $75, which includes a light meal, course materials and professional development. Advance registration is required.

Source: iastate.edu