(Submitted by Wood Soil & Water Conservation District)
American Farmland Trust, Cornell University Cooperative Extension Northwest New York Team, and Ohio’s Wood Soil & Water Conservation District have joined together to announce a Great Lakes Conservation Connect women-dedicated learning circle in Woodville. This workshop on Nov. 14, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., will focus on farming for clean water for women farmers and land owners.
Learning Circles provide women the opportunity to meet other land owners, share their farm successes and challenges, discuss their goals for their land and access advice and technical assistance.
Nearly 301 million acres of U.S. land – about a third of the nation’s land in farms – are now farmed or co-farmed by women and at least 87 million additional acres are in the hands of women landowners. Over the next 20 years, the numbers of women farming and or taking on a management role on farmland is likely to increase as 340 million acres of farmland are expected to change hands when farmers retire or leave their land to the next generation.
At this learning circle, women will have the opportunity to learn about how water moves through and over the farmland and the best practices to help retain nutrients in your fields where you want them, instead of running into nearby streams and lakes.
“In the Midwest, women now own or co-own between one-fourth and one-half of the farmland. These women are very interested in farming practices that benefit the health of their land. Our focus is to connect these women with each other and with the resource professionals who can help them with their farmland management goals,” said Jennifer Filipiak, Midwest director for American Farmland Trust. She continues, “Surveys show that 50 to 66 percent of women who attend a meeting take at least one conservation action in partnership with their tenants within one year. Actions range from planting cover crops to contacting NRCS for a whole-farm conservation plan to incorporating conservation provisions into their leases with tenants. Women consistently rate the women-only, peer meeting format very highly in surveys.”
“Farmers are sometimes hesitant to make long-term investments in conservation on fields they rent. This has been one of the barriers to adoption of water quality practices in the Western Lake Erie Basin.” said Beth Landers of Wood Soil and Water Conservation District. “If we can help the landowner and the farmer both understand the economic and environmental factors of a specific practice, it is easier for them to reach a working agreement that incorporates soil health and water quality improvements.”
Topic: Conservation and farming practices that promote clean water
Location: Luckey Farmers Inc., 1200 Main St., Woodville.
Time: Registration will begin at 8:30 a.m. and the meeting will begin at 9 a.m. Lunch is provided, and the program will end at 3 p.m.
RSVP by 5 p.m., Nov. 9 , by signing up online at www.farmland.org/women or calling 419-354-5517.
If you need an accommodation, please notify us when you RSVP. You are more than welcome to bring a friend or family member, just let us know when you RSVP.
