AMES, Iowa – Iowa State University Extension and Outreach’s Agronomy in the Field for Women will be held this spring across Iowa. The program is in its third year bringing together women landowners, farmers and ag retailers to learn about Iowa crop production.
The goals of this series are to strengthen agronomic skills for women that allow for better decision-making, provide a better understanding of inputs for crop production, see and understand different conservation practices and increase confidence in communication with their spouse, farming partner, ag retailer or tenant.
These programs are hosted by ISU Extension and Outreach field agronomists Angie Rieck-Hinz, Meaghan Anderson, Rebecca Vittetoe and Mike Witt. Five locations, covering many areas of the state, will be used.
“Depending on the location, we plan to have biweekly or monthly workshops to cover topics on crop growth and development, pasture management, pest management principles, scouting techniques, cover crops and water quality, and additional practices and topics as they come up this spring and summer,” said Anderson. “The individual groups really lead the topic selection and discussion.”
Following each session, a recap of the workshop with resources and information will be sent to those interested in the meetings. There is no charge to participate and women are not required to attend every session to participate. While a start date for the meetings is yet to be determined, please contact the location host to be kept up-to-date on individual sites:
Central Iowa: Meetings in central Iowa, hosted by Rieck-Hinz, will meet approximately biweekly at the Field Extension Education Laboratory (FEEL) near Boone, Iowa this spring and summer. Please contact Angie Rieck-Hinz at 515-231-2830 or amrieck@iastate.edu.
West Central Iowa: Meetings in west central Iowa, hosted by Witt, will meet approximately biweekly in Guthrie County this spring and summer. Please contact Mike Witt at 641-430-2600 or witt@iastate.edu.
East Central Iowa: Meetings in east central Iowa, hosted by Anderson, will meet approximately biweekly on farms in Iowa and Benton Counties in conjunction with the Price Creek Watershed Project. Please contact Meaghan Anderson at 319-337-2145 or mjanders@iastate.edu.
Southeast Iowa: Meetings in southeast Iowa, hosted by Anderson and Vittetoe, will meet monthly at the Southeast Research and Demonstration Farm near Crawfordsville, Iowa. Please contact either Meaghan Anderson at 319-337-2145 or mjanders@iastate.edu, or Rebecca Vittetoe at 319-653-4811 or rka8@iastate.edu.
South Central Iowa: Meetings in south central Iowa, hosted by Vittetoe, will meet monthly at the McNay Memorial Research and Demonstration Farm near Chariton, Iowa. Please contact Rebecca Vittetoe at 319-653-4811 or rka8@iastate.edu ,
Agronomy in the Field is sponsored by an NCR-SARE Partnership Grant Project. Local support is provided by Story, Boone, Iowa, Benton, Washington, Guthrie, Lucas, Wayne, and Warren County Extension.