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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.
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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.
About SARE
Since 1988, the Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) program
has helped advance farming systems that are profitable, environmentally sound
and good for communities through a nationwide grants program. The program,
administered by the Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension
Service, USDA, funds projects and conducts outreach designed to improve
agricultural systems and natural resources.
NRCS field office professionals frequently collaborate on SARE-funded projects
and are valuable partners to the SARE program. NRCS staff serve on SARE’s
national Operations Committee, on regional Administrative Councils, on State
committees and are actively engaged as technical advisers and collaborators on
SARE-funded research grants around the U.S.
For more information, visit
the SARE website or for more information about the regional SARE programs, click on the region
area of the map below.
Your contact is Diana Friedman, SARE
research associate, at 301-504-6422.
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