COLUMBIA, Mo. – Women in agriculture can choose from many hands-on learning activities during the annual Pearls of Production conference Nov. 8-9 at the University of Missouri Bradford Research Center near Columbia.
Marcia Shannon, MU Extension swine specialist, said the event provides classroom education, networking opportunities and hands-on workshops on swine, small ruminants, forages and cattle. The MU College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources, Lincoln University Cooperative Extension, and MU Extension host the event.
Participants can learn how to vaccinate pigs in a farrowing house, perform artificial insemination on a sow and conduct pig necropsy, just to name a few of the opportunities.
There will be a variety of hands-on training sessions for sheep, goat and beef producers as well. Producers, university and extension specialists, industry experts and others will lead sessions on the first day.
Shannon said the event targets the growing number of women in agriculture. About 80 percent of the undergraduates in MU’s Division of Animal Sciences are female, she said. 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.
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 registration fee is $100.
The 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 Shannon at 573-882-7859 or [email protected].
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