COLUMBIA, Mo. – The president of Volpi Foods in St. Louis speaks at the annual Pearls of Production: Women in Agriculture conference, Nov. 6-7 at the University of Missouri Animal Sciences Research Center in Columbia.
Marcia Shannon of MU Extension says Lorenza Pasetti will give an inside look the operation, which makes more than 300 types of cured meat products in the iconic Italian-American neighborhood of St. Louis called The Hill.
Volpi produces the most prosciutto in the United States. The fourth-generation business buys local Duroc hogs for long curing in drying caverns under the streets of St. Louis.
The conference also covers beef, swine, cattle and small ruminant production. Classroom and networking opportunities, in addition to hands-on breakout sessions, provide female farmers an opportunity to update skills.
The event targets the growing number of women in agriculture. A recent USDA publication shows the number of women owning farms tripled from 1978 to 2007, and women now own almost a third of the 3.3 million farms in the United States.
The College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources and MU Extension sponsor the annual event.
Go to http://muconf.missouri.edu/womenandagriculture/ for program details.
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