Published on 08/18/15

UGA Extension workshops hope to empower women in farming this September

University of Georgia Cooperative Extension will present two three-day workshops through Annie’s Project, a national education program, specifically geared toward women in farming.

The program is designed to empower women with the knowledge to better care for and contribute to their farm. “An educational program dedicated to strengthening women’s roles in modern farm and ranch enterprises,” Annie's Project was launched in 2003 by University of Illinois Extension educator Ruth Hambleton as a tribute to her mother, Annette Kohlhagen Fleck.

The UGA sessions are set for Sept. 8, 15 and 29 in Albany, Georgia, and Sept. 8, 15 and 22 in Perry, Georgia. The workshops are being presented by the Dougherty County and Houston County Extension offices.

The workshops will cover human resources, women and money, business plans, alternative enterprises, social style, farm succession, retirement and estate planning, use of spreadsheets, marketing plans and strategies, types of insurance financial records and more.

Instructors for both workshops will be agricultural leaders from the community, including representatives from UGA, the U.S. Department of Agriculture National Resources Conservation Service, the Farm Service Agency, the UGA Small Business Development Center, Georgia Farm Bureau, the Georgia Department of Agriculture, AgGeorgia, USDA Rural Development and local accountants.

“The goal of these workshops is to educate women in farming, give them more confidence and help them make connections in the community,” said Charlotte Meeks, the UGA Extension agricultural and natural resources agent in Houston County.

A grant from the Southern Risk Management Education Center, the USDA and the University of Florida allows the workshops to be offered at no cost. Lunch will be provided each day.

To register for the Perry workshop, call (478) 987-2028. To register for the Albany workshop, call (229) 436-7216. The registration deadline is Wednesday, Sept. 2.

Experts/Sources:

James Morgan

Teila and Walter Driggers gather collard greens on their farm in Collins, Georgia. As a farm wife, Teila helps her husband grow and sell their crops. An up-coming workshop for farm women is designed for for women just like Teila.

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