Female farmers and ranchers have many unique opportunities to grow together through partnerships and networking. For example, the Women Managing the Farm conference provides training, risk management tools, and professional resources to help women and men successfully manage the farm. The event will be held Feb. 9-11 at the Hilton Garden Inn in Manhattan.
According to the conference’s organizers, Women Managing the Farm helps prepare women to successfully participate in multiple farm roles through training and professional resources available to them through conferences, workshops and other opportunities. Registration costs $175 and includes all sessions, materials and meals. Pre-conference sessions are available for an additional $25.
Schedule lineup
Conference officials announced the speakers of this year’s conference.
- Courtenay DeHoff — known widely as the “Fancy Lady Cowgirl” — will give a keynote talk on Thursday, Feb. 10, at 8 a.m. A Kansas cowgirl-turned-television-host, DeHoff will bring her inspirational message of how she has embraced rural and urban lifestyles through a cowgirl spirit. Her website proclaims her belief that “a cowgirl is not defined by what she wears or where she lives.”
- Shannon Ferrell, a professor of agricultural economics at Oklahoma State University will kick off the Feb. 11 agenda at 7:45 a.m. with a talk on the legal elements of farm business management and transition planning.
- Tanner Ehmke, the lead economist with CoBank’s Knowledge Exchange research team, will give an industry outlook at 12:45 p.m. on Feb. 11, talking about sectors that are currently affecting the rural economy.
The conference has been held every year since 2005, though last year’s event was online only due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Nearly 300 women attended the conference in-person in early 2020.
This year’s breakout sessions feature several topics, including:
- Employee management for farms in Kansas.
- Farm Service Agency programs.
- Soil health.
- Farm tax update.
- Land transition.
Conference updates also are available on Facebook.
