Women In Ag Program: Cherokee County Extension

CHEROKEE — Iowa State University (ISU) Extension and Outreach invite women farmers and agribusiness professionals to take part in Annie’s Project, an educational program dedicated to strengthening women’s role in modern agriculture.

The program will be hosted at the Cherokee County Extension and Outreach office in Cherokee, beginning Thursday, Aug. 25, from 6-9 p.m., and continuing for the next five Thursdays. A light supper will be provided each week at 5:30 p.m.

Annie’s Project is a six-week series which features a variety of agricultural business and risk management topics. The course fosters problem-solving, record-keeping and decision-making skills in women involved in agriculture.

The goal of Annie’s Project is to empower farm and ranch women to become even more knowledgeable about their agricultural enterprises. Annie’s Project creates a comfortable and supportive learning environment focused on the best farm management practices. The program enables women to grow into even stronger agricultural business partners.

Iowa is home to 32,167 women farmers who generated $474 million in economic impact to our state in 2012, according to the 2012 USDA Census of Agriculture. These women have influential roles as owners, managers and employees on family farms and agribusinesses. For these reasons, ISU Extension and Outreach believes that women are an important audience and a valuable resource for educational programming.

There is a $75 registration fee for each Annie’s Project participant, which helps to off-set the cost of supplies and materials.

For more information about and/or to register for the upcoming Annie’s Project, contact the Cherokee County Extension and Outreach office at 712-225-6196 or Cherokee County Program Coordinator Mary Tuttle at mtuttle@iastate.edu.