Women Managing the Farm conference celebrates 20 years

MANHATTAN (KSNT) - Over two hundred women from across the state gathered at the Hilton Garden Inn in Manhattan to attend the 20th annual Women Managing the Farm conference.

"There have been a ton of people who have been involved in this conference over the 20 years of its life, and I'm excited to see how this continues to grow and evolve with the audience growing and evolving," conference attendee Dana Peterson said, who helped start the conference 20 years ago.

The annual conference aims to provide support and resources to women involved in agriculture in any capacity. The goal of the conference is to prepare modern farm women to manage their farm interests effectively through training and networking.

"There's so many women that have just as much of an important role in the farming operation as the man does," Conference Co-Chair Sandra Wick said. "Maybe she's the one that calves out the heifers. Maybe she's the one that's a little more patient and does the livestock part of it."

This year, the conference featured keynote speakers: author and comedian Mark Mayfield, Terrain economist Matt Roberts and Ag Inspirations founder Kim Bremmer. There were several breakout sessions throughout the two-day conference ranging from selling food products, growing cover crops, farming with small children to rural financing options.

"We don't want registration costs to deter anybody from coming," Wick said. "So, we do give out scholarships. Your local Farm Bureau also gives out scholarships within your county." 

The conference starts Thursday, Feb. 15 and will continue through Friday, Feb. 16 with a 20th anniversary celebration planned for Thursday evening. Wick said registration for next year's conference will open around December 2024.

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