The Farm School For Women program is an annual program hosted by the Buffalo Trace County area Cooperative Extension Offices, consisting of Bracken, Fleming, Lewis, Mason, and Robertson Counties.  The program addresses agriculture/farm topics that are of expressed interest by the group or realized topic of interest based upon the issues of the year.  

The 2024 topics included:  Beekeeping 101, with a hands-on activity of making candles and Chapstick with beeswax; Pond Management; Plant Diseases; and Electrical Basics, with a hands-on learning activity with wiring a switch and light.  

Fifty ladies from surrounding counties attended at least 1 session of the 4 session educational series with an average of 40 in attendance each session.  Several ladies attended from counties outside of the Buffalo Trace County Area due to the topic selection. Out of the fifty individuals that participated in Farm School For Women, 12% were Lewis County Residents. 

Thirty-six ladies completed the program evaluation.  100% of the respondents believed that the program was worth their time to attend.  Approximately 48% of respondents marked that they have made changes on their farm due to learning opportunities provided by the Farm School for Women program either this year or from the years past.  Approximately 5% of respondents stated that they have not made changes on their farm yet but intend to make changes from what they have learned at the Farm School For Women program.      

Several participants provided feedback.  Here are a few direct quotes: 

• "Great information at each class.  Thank you for the offering!"
• "Very good.  Fortunate to have this for education"
• "The electrical was great!! Worth every minute" 
• "Wonderful.  Gave me confidence to try" 
• "New information on topics not familiar to me. Forced me to extend myself to learn new topics I would not pursue.  Fellowship with like-minded ladies.  Loved the hands-on activities"

The respondents also provided several ideas for programming topics for the 2025 Farm School For Women program.