Women in Agriculture
Heart of the Farm
Program Statistics / Trends
Jenny Vanderlin, Information Processing Consultant
Joy Kirkpatrick, Outreach Specialist
Center for Dairy Profitability (CDP)
University of Wisconsin - Madison
Women in Agriculture
Heart of the Farm Project
• Overall Mission
Farm Management and Production Education for Women
Improving Farm Business Decision-Making
• Long-Term Goal
“…address the needs of farm women by providing education on pertinent
topics, connecting them with agricultural resources, and creating support
networks.”
• Funding Source
North Central Regional Risk Management Education Center
Risk Management Agency (2008)
and the Center for Dairy Profitability
Women in Agriculture
Trends*
• Most farm women are responsible
for farm bookkeeping and bill
paying
Women's Involvement
Selected Farm Tasks
Bookkeeping
Errands
• Farm errands and vegetable
gardening are common tasks
Gardening
Repair Machinery
Milking Cow s
Task
Cleaning Equip
Calf Care
• Women are more likely to work
with livestock than do field work
Clean Stalls/Barn
Feeding Cow s
Breeding Cow s
Haying
Rock Picking
Other Field Work
Spread Manure
Chem Apps
0
20
40
60
Percentage
Regularly
80
Som etim es
100
• Women’s age influences the tasks
that women do; in particular,
almost two-thirds of the women
interviewed (63%) contributed 40
or more hours of on-farm work per
week.
* The Roles of Women on Wisconsin Dairy Farms at the Turn of the 21 st Century. PATS Research Report No. 10. Nov, 2001.
Women in Agriculture
Other Trends*…
• Farm women are involved in
all of the major decisions on
farming operation
• Majority of women are
responsible for household
decisions
• Women likely to work with
financial decisions rather than
crop management
• More than ½ (57%) said they
were “very involved” in farm
decisions
* Heart of the Farm Women in Agriculture, PATS Research Report No. 20. September, 2003.
Heart of the Farm
Programs
2002-2007
Conferences were offered at various sites throughout the State
Over 500 women attended these conferences
2002
2 Pilot
2006
6 Conferences
2003
4 Conferences
2007
4 Conferences
2004
6 Conferences (8 Scheduled)
2008
5 full day conferences; 2 half day
2005
2 Conferences (6 Scheduled)
Spin-off Workshops: Financial, Health Care, Direct Marketing
Demographics
• Most Attendees Were From
Dairy Farms
– Followed by beef, then
grain, no hog farmers
• 42% Worked Off The Farm
– Averaged 30 hours per
week
• Wide Distribution of Ages
– Largest participation age
45-54, followed by 35-44
• Average Size of Farm was 600
Acres
Reason for Attending…
Chart 1: How Important to Attend Program
Know Other Person Attending
Know Other Women are Attending
Location is Place Want to Visit
Known Location
Distance
2003
Child Care for a Fee
2006
Free Child Care
Content Includes NonFarm
Content Relevant to Business
Speakers Well Known
Women Speakers
0
1
2
3
4
5
Rating
TOP 3 REASONS
1. Content Relevant
2. Other Women
3. Distance
Logistics…
Percentage
Chart 4: How Far Are You Willing to Travel to Attend a Farm
Program or Training?
50%
45%
40%
35%
30%
25%
20%
15%
10%
5%
0%
2003
2006
≤ 15 miles
16-30 miles
31-60 miles
≥ 60 miles
Distance
Willing to travel 30-60 miles to attend
2006 Respondents indicated they were willing to drive fewer
miles than 2003 respondents.
Marketing…
Chart 6: Marketing Programs to Farm Women
Direct Mail
Local Newspaper
Ag Newspaper
Farm Magazine
Best Way
Hear About Program
Radio
Extension Newsletter
Personal Contact
Other
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80%
Percent
BEST WAY: Direct Mail, Extension Newsletters and Local/Ag Newspapers
HEARD ABOUT: Direct Mail, Extension Newsletters and Personal Contact
What We Learned…
• “Liked Best”
• Discussion
• Lots of information
• Network with women
• “Change”
• More In-Depth Information
• More Discussion/Networking Time
• “Add”
• More In-Depth Information
• More Information (on all topics)
What We Learned…
• Plan early – “Save the date” postcards/flyer
• Planning committees – topics and
promotion
• Newsletters
• HCE groups
• Google groups
• 2008 – longer super-sessions – hands on
Networking Activity
•
•
•
•
•
Balancing Act or Is it a 3 Ring Circus
Divide participants into groups
Have them answer questions in their groups
Report back to the full group
Questions: how do they balance work, farm,
family, technologies that help them, finding
time away, etc.
Supporting Women Advantageous
to Wisconsin Agriculture
• Empowerment and Confidence of Women in
Agriculture
• Opportunities and Support for Networking,
Mentoring and Sharing
• Development of Positive Attitude
Questions/Discussion ?
Joy Kirkpatrick
Outreach Specialist
joy.kirkpatrick@ces.uwex.edu
Center for Dairy Profitability
608.263.3485
http://www.uwex.edu/ces/heartofthefarm/
Heart of the Farm
Women in Agriculture
http://www.uwex.edu/ces/heartofthefarm/