300 meet for 2nd Arkansas Women in Agriculture Conference
March 14, 2006Contact Information:
Dr. Jennie Popp, Dept. of Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness
479-575-2279 / jhpopp@uark.edu
By Fred Miller, University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture
479-575-5647 / fmiller@uark.edu
Tracy Boswell, from left, and Vivian Alford, both of Lewisville, and Vivian Pope of Mineral Springs discuss positioning and partnering for leadership in an exercise conducted during a session on leadership at the Arkansas Women in Agriculture Conference, hosted by the University of Arkansas Division of Arkansas March 6-7 in Hot Springs.
Jolene Brown, a farmer and professional speaker from Iowa, leads a session titled “Stand Up! Step Up! Lead!” during the Arkansas Women in Agriculture Conference, hosted by the University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture March 6-7 in Hot Springs. About 300 participants gathered in search of information and skills needed as women take on changing roles in agriculture.
HOT SPRINGS, Ark. — Some 300 women came to Hot Springs in March seeking information and skills suited to their changing roles in agriculture.
Leadership was the central theme of the 2006 Arkansas Women in Agriculture Conference, hosted by the University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture, said Jennie Popp, associate professor of agricultural economics.
“We’re seeing a number of things that are thrusting women into leadership roles in agriculture,” Popp said. “Women are inheriting farmland or, in many cases, choices are being made on the farm for women to take on leadership roles.
“Women increasingly find themselves in positions of making more important decisions about buying or selling land and equipment, or making other business decisions,” Popp said.
“In Arkansas, more than 19,000 women are farm operators, and nearly 5,000 are principal operators,” Popp said.
The market value of agricultural products sold from Arkansas farms operated principally by women amounted to more than $390 million, according to the USDA 2002 Census of Agriculture.
The Arkansas Women in Agriculture Conference was begun last year to help women develop the leadership skills they need to maintain a farming operation, Popp said.
“Men and women learn differently,” Popp said. “Group learning is more appealing to women than to men. Women prefer working together, asking and answering questions in a discussion format, whereas men are more independent, even at a conference. We developed this conference in a way that compliments women’s learning styles. Women were asked to stand up, step out and lead, together.”
The Conference sessions covered a range of topics from estate planning, agricultural loans and marketing to gardening, working with cooperatives and water quality issues.
Based on conference evaluations, the opening session, “Stand Up! Step Out! Lead!” by Jolene Brown, a farmer and professional speaker from Iowa, was the standout favorite session,” Popp said. Other favorite sessions included those dealing with estate planning, financial management and future farm bill issues.
One participant wrote in her evaluation, “I am newly in charge of my farm and now I have some confidence that I can successfully lead my operation.”
“Women are increasingly interested in learning the skills they need to make them more effective in their new roles of leadership in Arkansas agriculture,” Popp said. “That’s the goal of this conference.”
Popp and colleague Janie Hipp, assistant professor and natural resources regulatory policy specialist, received a grant of $20,000 from the Women’s Giving Circle to help organize the first Arkansas Women in Agriculture Conference in 2005.