This program provided an
opportunity for women livestock producers in all New England states to access
the necessary tools to address risks related to communication, financial
planning, market viability, and pastured livestock systems. Regionally, New
England is a leader for number of women producers, however, the number of
specialists in business and livestock production as a region are limited. In
offering this program regionally it expanded networks between farmers,
agriculture service providers, and effectively reduced risk to maintain
resilient livestock businesses.
The project had three phases:
1) First, we offered virtual learning circles on two different occasions with a total of 24 participants. Women learned about
communication styles, how to improve negotiation skills, and participated in a
facilitated discussion to help build the curriculum for a winter virtual conference.
2) Our winter virtual conference had sessions on marketing and financial
planning, which had 68 consistent participants.
3) To allow for networking between conference participants, we offered three post-conference
field days that focused on processing, grazing management, and direct sales
marketing with a total of 26 participants, 20 of which participated in the virtual conference.
A total of 16 participants implemented meaningful changes that moved their business towards their profit goals.