Annie’s Project seminar in Columbia offers advice on farm succession, relationships

COLUMBIA, Mo. – Women interested in learning how to pass the family farm down to the next generation can learn from a nationally recognized speaker at a one-day Annie’s Project seminar in Columbia.

The event is Aug. 16 at the University of Missouri Food Agricultural Policy Research Institute (FAPRI), 101 Park De Ville Drive, Suite E, Columbia.

“We invite all Missouri farm women, whether or not they’ve participated in Annie’s Project,” said Karisha Devlin, Annie’s Project co-state coordinator. “We want to honor all Missouri farm women for their roles in agriculture, connect women with each other, and raise awareness of agricultural risk management.”

Pat Westhoff, MU economist and FAPRI director, talks about the 2014 farm bill.

Keynote speaker Ron Hanson, an agribusiness professor at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, speaks on “What Happens if Mom Takes Over the Family Farm?” and ways to resolve conflicts between on-farm and off-farm heirs during farm succession.

Hanson also tells farm wives how to strengthen relationships through better communication in a second presentation, “Have You Got a Minute?”

Ray Massey, MU Extension ag economist, speaks about crop insurance. Shanda Nichols of FCS Financial gives tips on financial statements.

Also, a two-day Annie’s Project conference will be held Sept. 19-20 at the Windermere Conference Center at the Lake of the Ozarks. Speakers include MU Extension agribusiness specialists, cowboy comedian Jerry Crownover and musician and rancher Teddy Gentry.

Annie’s Project is a risk-management program designed specifically for women. In Missouri, MU Extension and the USDA Risk Management Agency sponsor the class. It is in its 10th year.

Annie’s Project honors the late Annette Kohlhagen Fleck, who was married to a farmer for 50 years. One of her daughters, a retired University of Illinois Extension educator, started Annie’s Project to educate women on farm topics.

Register at http://extension.missouri.edu/annie or call 660-397-2179.