Jan. 29, 2016

Nebraska women will learn how to plan and make better business decisions for their farms and ranches, communities, families and themselves at the 31st Women in Agriculture Conference, the longest-running women's conference of its kind in the country. It will be held Feb. 25-26 at the Kearney Holiday Inn, 110 S. Second Ave.

This year's theme is "Women in Agriculture: The Critical Difference," and the conference features a variety of workshops, "funshops" and speakers, including Jolene Brown of West Branch, Iowa, and Trent Loos of Litchfield.

Brown will be the keynote speaker the morning of Feb. 25 with her talk, "The Balancing Act: 10 Ideas to Relieve Stress and Bring Renewal to Our Farm and Family Life," about realistic and applicable ideas to help bring a breath of fresh air, renewal and balance to work and family life. (Sample some of Brown's humor and inspiration on her website.) Brown's talk is sponsored by Farm Credit Services of America. Loos will be the capstone lunchtime speaker on Feb. 26 as he presents "Passion for the Purpose" about developing and sharing a passion and meaningful purpose in one's life.

Five concurrent sessions will offer participants more than 30 workshops to choose from with topics including crop and livestock marketing, applications for big data, forestry, alternate livestock, real-estate trends and lease provisions, labor management, women's heart health, pesticide training, business transition, family communication, livestock disease outbreak, farm programs, financial planning and agronomy issues. The evening of Feb. 25 includes time for networking and exercise. 

Booth exhibitors will share information with participants that may also be useful in their farm/ranch operation.

Registration

Register online at http://wia.unl.edu or download, complete and mail a completed registration form with a check to UNL Agricultural Economics, 303 Filley Hall, Lincoln, NE 68583-0922. More information about Women in Agriculture is available at that site.

The early-bird registration fee is $125 for those registering by Feb. 12. Beginning Feb. 13, the fee is $150. The fee includes workshop materials, registration and all meals and breaks.

The conference is sponsored by the Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Nebraska Extension, the Department of Agricultural Economics, Farm Credit Services of America, Reinke Irrigation and the Nebraska Farm Bureau Federation. Opportunities for conference sponsorship and booth exhibits still remain. 

Lodging is available at the Kearney Holiday Inn, 110 S. Second Ave., by calling 308-237-5971.