Annie's Project: Taking women further into farming

Stacey Winter, co-owner of Winter Feed Lots, Inc., in rural Akron, participated in Annie's Project last year. The program offers classes in relation to the agricultural industry to women. Winter, a certified public accountant, who handles much of the financial aspects of her business, found the six-session program beneficial. [Click to enlarge]

Stacey Winter wanted to obtain more experience and education in the agriculture industry to assist her husband in their business.

That's one of the reasons the rural Akron woman chose to participate in Annie's Project, a six-class session geared toward farm women, last year.

"I figured it would be good information, and as it turned out it was really good," Winter said. "They brought in speakers on crop insurance. They talked about marketing, crops and livestock. That was really helpful."

Annie's Project, a nationally recognized curriculum, is being sponsored locally for the second year by the Iowa State University (ISU) Extension office. Classes start Tuesday, March 3 at the ISU Extension office in Le Mars

"We have a strong population of women in farming and we have a strong agriculture base," said Carol Schneider, ISU county extension education director.

Women should come into the class with the "confidence and desire to be involved in their own farm business," Schneider said.

Winter, who along with her husband, Scott, owns Winter Feed Lots, Inc, said she highly recommends the program for any woman that's in farming, no matter her role.

"One of the neat things they do is they go through a financial statement and how to track your income, your expenses and all of that just specifically related to agriculture," Winter said. "Every industry is different and there's just so many things that are just specific to the agricultural business."

Because she felt Annie's Project was so beneficial, Winter encouraged her office assistant, Amanda Breitbarth, to enroll for this year's session.

"There's a lot to learn and it's just very specific so it's just very helpful for farm families and farm women that want to be more involved and want to be more informed," Winter said. "Even if they're not working in the business, even if they want to have a better understanding of what the challenges are that their husband might be facing on a daily basis."

Breitbarth said she wants to learn more about the financial side of agriculture through Annie's Project.

"My husband Chase is also a farmer," Breitbarth said. "I want to learn more about it in case anything should happen."

Each of Annie Project's six sessions will feature a different speaker and topic ranging from legal issues to utilizing government programs.

Le Mars Attorney Craig Bauerly said he will return for a second year to talk about estate planning and other legal issues relative to single mothers or widows with farm-related problems.

"I think it's important because they need to know how to continue to conduct business if a spouse passes or if there's a divorce," Bauerly said.

"It's helpful for them to be involved in the financial matters and to have a basic understanding of the financial matters so they're not at a disadvantage when there is a death or a divorce," he said.

Schneider said ISU Extension is able to sponsor Annie's Project with grant funds, and she hopes to continue to offer it to Plymouth County residents.

As of Thursday spots were still open for the session, and those interested in registering can call the extension office at 712-546-7835.

"They get a lot of extension resources and publications," Schneider said.

Another benefit of Annie's Project is, after completing the program, participants are able to take an online class through ISU website, Winter said.

"There is a whole array of courses you can take," she said. "So if there's an area that interests you or that you felt you needed more experience in, you can kind of focus in on that area."

In addition to learning, Winter said participating in Annie's Project is fun. She said it's interesting and there is a light dinner provided along with snacks and coffee.

"It's an opportunity to meet other women that have the same interests as you," Winter said. "It's a night out once a week and that's always fun for women, and you learn something new, so that's a bonus."