The problem

The educational program response

The local Breckinridge, Grayson and Hancock County areas have noticed an increase in the number of women taking active roles in the agriculture enterprises recently. Based on US Census of Ag Data, 35% of the primary farm owners in this area are women.   This is due to many factors: succession, new residents interested in farming, better resources for women, and general interests, to name a few. This area of Kentucky is also expanding in diverse enterprises ranging from vegetables, grain, cattle, small ruminants, hay, floral, direct meat sales, and agritourism. This allows for more expertise in ALL factors of the operation. Due to the need, ag leaders in the area wanted to have a program that guided these individuals to success, thus utilizing the Nationally known Annie’s Project program.  Annie’s Project is geared toward empowering women in agriculture- whether they’re just starting out, have inherited a farm due to succession, or just want to learn more about their daily operation. This six-week course that is a discussion-based workshop bringing women together to learn from local and state experts in production, financial management, human resources, marketing, and the legal field. The goal is to help the participants develop and sharpen skills to help increase their profits, productivity, and thus the local economy.

 Between the 3 counties, there were 24 participants that completed the program hosted in Breckinridge County. Specifically, the group entertained speakers from UK Health, UK Horticulture, Ag Economics, local marketing firms, local attorneys, FCS, ANR, and NEP agents. Each session offered time for questions, sharing, reacting, and connecting with presenters and fellow participants.

Based on entry and exit evaluations, of the 24 participants 22 gained knowledge in all five of the risk management areas. Ninety eight percent of participants felt that the all- women environment was important to them. When asked about the most important action step taken during the Annie’s Project course, comments were: “Started QuickBooks for better record keeping”, “gathering information for a will”, “discussion with LLC members about the business”, “marketing our business better”, “talking to accountant and lawyer about LLC books and learning about the LLC.”