COLUMBIA, Mo.– A two-day conference for women in agriculture will teach farm management and production concepts.
The University of Missouri conference, Pearls of Production, will take place Nov. 8-9 in Columbia.
“We like to joke that we keep our off-farm job to support our farming habit. Many small livestock farmers are classified as hobby farmers, so why should we treat a hobby as business?” asks Lynn Hambleton-Heins, MU Extension agricultural business specialist. She will teach Marketing, Leasing and Banking 101 at the conference.
“Farmers are so heavily invested in their operations, financially and emotionally, so it’s time to consider ourselves serious farm owners and partners,” she said.
She will discuss what a farm plan should outline and review critical management concepts like marketing, lease agreements and financial record-keeping.
Hambleton-Heins grew up on an Illinois farm and received her degree in agriculture business from Southern Illinois University at Carbondale. She married her college sweetheart, a row crop farmer, and they have 1-year-old twins.
The MU College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources, Lincoln University Cooperative Extension, and MU Extension host the annual event.
Sign-in on Nov. 8 starts at 8:30 a.m. at the MU Bradford Research Center, east of Columbia.
On the second day, breakout sessions will take place at MU farms in Boone County. The beef session is at the MU Beef Farm. Pork will be in the Swine Teaching Barn at MU South Farm. Small ruminants and forage sessions are at Bradford.
Bradford Research Center is at 4968 Rangeline Road. From Columbia, go east 6.5 miles on Broadway/Highway WW to Rangeline Road. Signs at the intersection point south 2 miles.
The $100 registration fee includes meals featuring new beef and pork products. Breaks and educational texts are also included.
Register through the MU Conference Office at muconf.missouri.edu or by calling toll-free to 877-682-6663.
Program details are available at muconf.missouri.edu/womenandagriculture, or from Marcia Shannon at 573-882-7859 or [email protected].
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