Released: February 14, 2005

Farm Management Seminars for Women Slated

MANHATTAN, Kan. – Either by design or because of unforeseen circumstances, women often find themselves in the position of running farming operations. To help women in such situations, the Kansas Association of Wheat Growers (KAWG) has teamed up with Kansas State University Research and Extension and several other organizations to hold a series of seminars around the state.

The two-day seminars, “Women Managing the Farm,” were designed to assist women with little farm management experience in finding solutions for sustaining profitability through risk management.

"According to the 2002 U.S. Census of Agriculture, women are the principal operators of 5,660 Kansas farms out of the total of 64,414 Kansas farms," said Dana Hoffman, member programs director for KAWG. Hoffman also serves as project manager for the seminars. “That means that the number of women as principal operators of Kansas farms increased almost 37 percent from the 1997 census.

“This project will help women develop their risk management skills so they can manage their farm interests,” Hoffman said. “This is important so that our women land owners are self-supporting in their mature years financially, mentally, spiritually, emotionally, and relationally.”

Each of the seminars will be Friday and Saturday events, with the Friday sessions from 1:00-8:00 p.m. and the Saturday sessions from 8:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m. The $30.00 registration fee includes the Friday evening dinner, Saturday lunch, and a binder of seminar materials.

Topics to be covered include Financial Health Indicators; Financial Best Practices; Investing Basics; Farm Income Risks; Commodity and Conservation Farm Programs; Networks for Support; Family Workforce Management; and Estate Succession Planning.

Other topics include Lease Options and Management; Conflict Resolution; Business Planning and Strategy; and Personal Health and Safety.

A breakout session with vendors is also planned.

The seminar dates and locations include:

* Feb. 18-19 - Dodge City at the Dodge House, 2408 West Wyatt Earp Blvd.

* Feb. 25-26 - Lawrence at the Holiday Inn, 200 McDonald Drive.

* March 4-5 - Wichita at the Holiday Inn Select, 549 S. Rock Rd.

* April 8-9 - Logan at the Dane G. Hansen Memorial Museum and Plaza,110 W. Main.

Interested persons are urged to pre-register no later than a week prior to the start of the seminar they want to attend. Pre-registration can be handled by calling 1-800-748-8034.

“Managing risk is a key part of the seminars, including yield and price risk, financial risk, human risk, and legal risk,” Hoffman said. “A key part of the ‘Women Managing the Farm’ seminars is the utilization of already established support networks for women to maintain the skills learned or strengthened through seminar attendance.”

Joining KAWG and K-State Research and Extension as sponsors are the Kansas Rural Family Helpline, Kansas Association of Family and Community Educators, Kansas Agricultural Mediation Services, Kansas Farm Bureau, Frontier Farm Credit, Kansas Agri-Women, and Farm Credit of Central Kansas.

Funding for the seminars was provided by the North Central Risk Management Education Center in Lincoln, Nebraska.

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K-State Research and Extension is a short name for the Kansas State University Agricultural Experiment Station and Cooperative Extension Service, a program designed to generate and distribute useful knowledge for the well-being of Kansans. Supported by county, state, federal and private funds, the program has county Extension offices, experiment fields, area Extension offices and regional research centers statewide. Its headquarters is on the K-State campus, Manhattan.

Story by:
Mary Lou Peter
mlpeter@oznet.ksu.edu
K-State Research& Extension News