Risk Management, Decision-Making Focus of Women Ranchers & Farmers Workshop in Fairfield July 11

Contact: Erin Davis, 903-389-3436, erin.davis@ag.tamu.edu

According to the USDA’s most recent Census of Agriculture, more than half of all farms (56 percent) had a female producer. These female-operated farms accounted for 38 percent of U.S. agricultural sales and 43 percent of U.S. farmland. A nationally awarded workshop series is scheduled for Fairfield to help empower them through education and shared experiences.

Annie’s Project is an educational program dedicated to building confidence and strengthening women’s roles in modern farm and ranch enterprises, said Dr. Jason Johnson, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service economist, Stephenville.

The workshop series will be offered in six sessions, from 11 a.m -2 p.m. each Tuesday beginning July 11 at the Round Prairie Baptist Church Family Life Center, 932 Main Street, in Fairfield. The class will meet on July 11, 18 and 25, and Aug. 1, 15 and 22.

Cost of the program is $60 per person for the entire series, and class size is limited to 25 to facilitate discussion among participants, he said. Registration slots will be filled on a first-come, first-served basis. Lunch and refreshments will be provided at each session.

“The program is based on the experiences of farm women who spend their lifetime learning how to be an involved business manager or partner with their partners and other family members,” Johnson said. “The reality is that over 90 percent of farm women usually end up managing their personal and farm business finances at some point in their lives as a result of death, divorce or disability.”

Speakers will include a variety of local professionals, practitioners and experts from AgriLife Extension, the U.S. Department of Agriculture -Farm Service Agency and USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service, and other industry professionals that will offer education and answer individual questions from participants. Participants will receive training in critical decision-making and information addressing the management of production risks, marketing risks, financial risks, personnel risks and estate planning.

Interested participants can request a brochure and registration form by contacting Erin Davis, AgriLife Extension agent in Freestone County, at 903-389-3436 or Richard Parrish, AgriLife Extension agent in Leon County, at 903-536-2531. The registration form is also available at http://stephenville.tamu.edu by clicking on Extension Programs and selecting the Annie’s Project link.

Additional information about the program and how other farm women nationally have benefitted is available at: http://www.anniesproject.org.

“Often farming women do not feel comfortable in the coffee shop network that is so familiar to farm and ranch men,” Johnson said. “Annie’s project provides a place where farm women can learn both from the perspectives of local agricultural professionals as well as the experiences of other workshop members without the pressure of sales pitches or solicitations.”