By STACY CAMPBELL
Cottonwood Extension District
On farms large and small across the state of Kansas, the number of women involved in decision making on farms and ranches is growing. Against that backdrop and especially in view of the ups and downs of the farm economy, Kansas State University and the Cottonwood Extension District will host two sites for the series of workshops focused on helping women sharpen their risk management skills.
The K-State Research and Extension, Cottonwood District, program will run as a series, so each evening session builds on material from the previous sessions. Participants register at a cost of $50 for the entire series. The fee covers all meals and program materials.
The sessions, all on Wednesdays, are scheduled on January 12, January 19, January 26 and February 2, with an optional session on February 23, from 5:30 to 8:30 pm and will be held in Hays, at the Extension Office meeting room, 601 Main Street and in Great Bend at American Ag Credit, 5634 10th Street. The sessions will feature a combination of broadcasted keynote speakers as well as local speakers.
The registration deadline has been extended to Friday, January 7 on-line at www.agmanager.info under “events” or contact the Hays office 785-628-9430 or Great Bend 620-793-1910.
Topics will include Enterprise Budgets (determining cost of production), Crop Insurance, Stress and Resiliency, Crop Marketing, Family Communication, Farm Bill programs and Cow/Calf enterprise budget.
There are 36 locations around the state hosting this series, to find the one closest to you go to the Ag Manager web site listed above.
More than 25,500 women are decision makers on Kansas farms. They farm more than 14 million acres, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Census of Agriculture. Overall, in 2017, 36% of all agricultural producers across the country were women, up from 31.5% in 2012. Fifty-six percent of farms had at least one female decision maker.
“Women in agriculture will be specifically targeted for these workshops,” said Stacy Campbell and Alicia Boor, Crop and Livestock Agents with the Cottonwood District and K-State Research and Extension. “They tend to be an underserved demographic, but many times are involved or solely making the risk management tasks for the operation. By teaching them the necessary skills for helping to complete enterprise budgets, making crop insurance decisions, helping to relieve farm family stress, along with understanding the farm bill programs.”
The program is supported by the USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture through North-Central Extension Risk Management Education.
Don’t delay registration deadline has been extended to January 7th at www.agmanager.info under “events”.
Stacy Campbell is a Crop Production Extension agent in the Cottonwood District (which includes Barton and Ellis counties) for K-State Research and Extension. You can contact him by e-mail at [email protected] or calling 785-628-9430.