Women Farmers and Ranchers Meet to Create Change and Plant the Seeds for Future Work
 

Anne Lazor and Butterworks Farm, in Westfield, Vermont, will host one of eight farm tours offered as part of the Women in Sustainable Agriculture Conference.  Butterworks produces up to 7,000 quarts of organic yogurt a week, selling it to 45 groceries and co-ops in Vermont as well as a natural food distributor. The farm also produces organic cream and cheese, and sell flours, sunflower oil, dry beans, and buckwheat. Anne treats the farm's Jersey cows using homeopathic methods, and is well known for her success and willingness to share her knowledge. The Lazors host elementary school children for tours, train interns, and allow USDA and extension agencies to conduct studies on their land.

The role of women in agriculture is the theme for a SARE-supported national conference to be held October 21-23, in Burlington, Vermont.  For conservation technical assistance providers like NRCS conservationists, the 2-1/2-day conference will provide an opportunity to learn about women’s unique contributions to farming and ranching. For conservation technical assistance providers like NRCS conservationists, the 2-1/2-day conference will provide an opportunity to learn about women’s unique contributions to farming and ranching. And for NRCS presenters, it will provide and opportunity to educate participants about NRCS conservation technical assistance and programs.

Preceding the conference will be half-day tours that will take participants to some of the most innovative, sustainable farms in Vermont. The tours, which feature Women’s Agricultural Network (WAgN) participants and Northeast SARE-funded projects, are supported in part by a SARE grant and are planned with an educational focus. Tour participants will learn about farm operations, production topics, marketing, business development, and decision-making strategies. “We expect the tours will both inspire and provide new knowledge to tour-goers while they make meaningful connections with others who are working on the same issues in their communities,” said Beth Holtzman, outreach education coordinator for WAgN that is organizing the conference in collaboration with sister organizations from around the country. WAgN is a program of the University of Vermont Cooperative State Research, Education and Extension Service.

photos courtesy of Cynthia Vagnetti © 1999

Conference organizers expect some 350 farmers and agricultural service providers from around the nation to attend. The main conference track aims  to build technical and business skills. Other session topics include building healthy soils, finding the best information resources for women producers, networking, pastured poultry production, and strategies for managing greenhouses and gardens. The fundamental goal of the conference is to expand the number of sustainable farms owned and operated by women. “It really is a once-in-a-decade chance for women involved in agriculture to come together to recognize their collective achievements and use them as a springboard to more effective work in the future,” Holtzman said.

Laini Fondiller, of Lazy Lady Farm, in Westfield, Vermont, will host one of eight farm tours offered as part of the Women in Sustainable Agriculture Conference. A SARE farm grant recipient, Laini will share her experience 30-years experience producing and marketing European-style, hand-crafted, specialty goat cheeses, raising sheep for meet and fiber, and marketing products through farmers markets, food co-ops and distributors.

SARE awarded a “partnership” grant to support the pre-conference tours and participated on the WAgN conference planning committee. To register for the conference, visit the WAgN webiste. For more information contact Beth Holtzman at 802-223-2389, ext. 15.