Tri-State Neighbor: South Dakota Farm Newspaper

LINCOLN, Neb. - Women involved in agriculture can gain management education tailored to fit the specific challenges they face at the 21st annual Women In Agriculture Conference in Kearney, Neb., Sept. 15-16.

"Women fill a vital role in the agriculture industry," said Meg Kester, University of Nebraska-Lincoln Women In Agriculture interim coordinator and project specialist in the agricultural economics department. "The conference will provide women with the knowledge they need to make informed management decisions, whether focused on their businesses or their families."

The conference, to be held at Kearney's Holiday Inn, will begin with registration Sept. 15 at 9 a.m. and conclude Sept. 16 at 1:45 p.m. This year's theme is "Making the Critical Difference."

To kick off the event, JoAnne Owens-Nauslar, director of corporate and community relations with Walk4Life Inc., will talk about health and fitness in "Women on the Well Side."

The keynote address will be given by Christine Burton, assistant deputy minister of Manitoba Agriculture, Food and Rural Initiatives in Manitoba, Canada.

Burton will talk about why women's contributions often are under-valued, the changing role and influence of women in rural development and how women can make their voices heard on a broad scale.

Other featured speakers include social worker Blenda Keylon of Cairo, Neb., who will address family and relationship issues, and Nebraska humorist and cowboy poet R.P. Smith of Custer County.

In addition to attending group sessions, participants will attend five workshop series during the conference. They can choose from 23 different topics, such as running a rural business, planning for retirement, communicating effectively with family, creating marketing plans, the impact of methamphetamine on rural communities, cattle prices and current issues, the family farm, basic accounting, tax planning, computerized farming, dietary guidelines and more.

Workshop leaders include representatives from industry, farm wives, authors, UNL Extension faculty and staff and others.

Educational booths also will be available for participants to peruse during breaks.

Registration for the conference is $75 before Sept. 3 and $85 after. The fee includes workshop materials, registration, breaks, lunch and dinner on Sept. 15, and breakfast and lunch on Sept. 16.

Lodging is available by contacting the Kearney Holiday Inn at (800) 248-4460.

To register or for more information, contact Women In Agriculture, 303C Filley Hall, UNL East Campus, Lincoln, Neb. 68583-0922, call (800) 535-3456, fax (402) 472-0776 or go online to http://wia.unl.edu.

The conference is presented by the Department of Agricultural Economics and UNL Extension in the Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources.

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