Business : Women in Agriculture Seminar to be offered March 23rd

Are you married to a farmer or are you a woman working in agriculture? If so, then we have the conference for you! Come with us on a one day journey to become an empowered woman in agriculture. Our keynote speaker Michele Payn Knoper, CauseMatters.com, will teach you how to lead through the significant changes facing agriculture in the 21st century and leave a legacy. Come listen to Michele along with great break out speakers who all have a mission to empower the women in agriculture on Friday, March 23rd at the iWireless Center in Moline.

The Women in Agriculture Conference will begin with registration at 8:00 a.m. followed by Michele Payn Knoper’s keynote address on “Celebrating Agriculture” at 9 a.m.

The keynote address will be followed by a wide variety of breakout sessions. Here are a few examples:

·         Eileen Fisher, University of Iowa – “Motivating Families to Create Safe Play Areas on Farms”

·         Adam Nielsen, National Legislative Director, Illinois Farm Bureau – “A Woman’s Place is on the Hill”

·         Penny Lauritzen, Certified Financial Planner, Farm Financial Strategies – “We Bequeath to You…”

·         Cathy Ekstrand, Market Advisor, Stewart-Peterson Group – “Are you the Gatekeeper to your Farm’s Financial Future?”

·         Lori Laughlin, Director of Issue Management, Illinois Farm Bureau and Heather Lilienthal, Iowa Farm Bureau– “Connecting Farmers with Consumers”

·         Jennifer McGarry, Certified Public Accountant, Winkel, Parker, & Foster –“Managing Farm Finances”

Among the powerful breakout sessions, lunch will be served along with a very interesting panel discussion titled “So You Married a Farmer…Now What?”

The conference is March 23, 2012 at the iWireless Center, 1201 River Drive, Moline, IL 61265. Registration will begin at 8 a.m. The conference will begin at 9:00 and will wrap up around 3:00 p.m.

The cost of the program will be $50 which will include a breakfast and a luncheon buffet. Registration materials must be received by March 1st. Any registrations received after March 1st will be $60. Walk-ins the day of the conference will be $75.  To register, contact the Rock Island County Farm Bureau office at (309) 736-7432 or online at www.extension.iastate.edu/scott/news/womeninagriculture.

If you need a hotel room, there has been a block of rooms reserved at the Stoney Creek Inn, 101 18th St., Moline, IL. To make your reservation, call (309) 743-0101 by February 22nd and ask for the Women in Agriculture Conference on March 22nd. 

If you are a woman involved in agriculture, you will not want to miss this empowering seminar. This seminar is being brought to you by the Bureau, Carroll,  Fulton, Henry, Knox, Lee, Mercer, McDonough, Rock Island, Stark, Warren-Henderson, and Whiteside County Farm Bureaus in Illinois as well as the Scott County Farm Bureau in Iowa. Platinum sponsors are River Valley Cooperative and John Deere. Gold and Silver sponsors are:  1st Farm Credit Services, FS Growmark, Country Financial and First Midwest Bank. Iowa State Extension and University of Illinois Extension are also partners in this conference.