The Women, Food, & Agriculture Network’s Women Caring for the Land program is going virtual. Women who own, co-own or manage farmland are invited to participate in any or all of WFAN’s three upcoming free online conservation meetings focused on soil health: 1-3 p.m., March 30; 9-11 a.m. April 1; and 9-11 a.m. April 20.

Coordinated by WFAN and supported by Kansas Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), these events are opportunities for women landowners in Kansas to learn among their peers.

Attendees of the meetings will learn how to assess the health of their soils, and improve it with conservation best practices. The meetings will include: Presentations by resource professionals; Kansas landowners telling their conservation stories; Break-out rooms for participants to discuss and get to know one another. 

The meetings will be held via Zoom. The meetings are free but do require pre-registration. Registration details are available at www.wfan.org/events. Questions can be directed to Wren Almitra, wren@wfan.org, 215-384-3094.

In December 2020, NRCS Supervising District Conservationist Haley Bond and Barton County Conservation District Manager Veronica Coons attended a virtual training session presented by the Women Farm and Ag Network, where they learned about developing and conducting outreach activities for women producers. These meetings are the next step towards greater inclusion of women.

“One take-away from the training was the real need to find ways to bring women into the planning process for conservation activities,” Coons said. “It was surprising to learn women own about half of the agricultural land in Kansas, and more than half of the land leased for production is owned by women. Surprising because far fewer than half of the conservation programming is directly initiated by women walking through the door.”

For over a decade, the Women, Food & Agriculture Network has organized fun and informative meetings for women landowners. Their aim is to provide women with the information, connections and encouragements they need through informal peer-to-peer discussions facilitated by resource professionals. They work with landowners to discuss their land management goals and how they can take care of their land. More at www.wfan.org/women-caring-for-the-land. 

These programs are made possible through a Kansas Natural Resources Conservation Service conservation collaboration grant. USDA is an equal opportunity employer, provider, and lender. USDA programs are available to all without regard to race, color, national origin, religion, sex, or disability. For more go to http://www.USDA.gov.