Knowledge is Power

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During the winter months, grain farmers educate ourselves on new innovations, marketing strategies, how to get better yields, and attend networking events. One such event that I recently attended was the Executive Women in Agriculture Conference in Chicago. It was really amazing, you know why? Not only did I listen to some knowledgable women who work in ag, but I met women doers of ag, women like me, who are hands on farmers, who are daughters of farmers and are becoming the next executives of their business.
These women came from Washington state, Idaho, North Carolina, Alabama, and as well as all over the Midwest. it was a place that women could ask the questions in a nonjudgmental arena, learn from from their peers and from women professionals.
Top Producer, an Ag based magazine, hosted the 2-day conference along with several sponsors related to Ag. The conference was based on educating women on farm business practices designed for women farm managers and marketers.
Marketing strategies were emphasized in many of the sessions. Women senior marketing analysts came from the East, West and Midwest to teach us marketing in a way that was easy to understand. Marketing commodities involves risk, and it all depends on how comfortable you are with risk. The more risk you take, the more you can gain…but on the flip side, the more you can lose. We learned all about options, calls, puts, HTAs (hedge to arrive) and ways to navigate through all of the volatility in the markets. It was fascinating and very exciting!
Breakout sessions included tax tips for Ag businesses, crop insurance, succession planning, social media, marketing basics and emotional intelligence
I highly recommend this conference for any woman involved in agriculture. Educating yourself in an ever changing field like farming is necessary to be successful. Knowledge is power.