Project boosts farm wives

Role of women in agriculture growing

ENDERLIN, N.D. (AP)--Georgia Olson grew up a military brat in Jacksonville, Fla. The thought of being a farm wife, in wintry, far-off North Dakota no less, never occurred to her.

But one day she married a farmer, and farming became her way of life, too.

Now Olson, 33, who already wears many hats, is preparing for a bigger role on the family farm.

"Our farm operation keeps expanding, and there's a need for me to get more involved," she said.

That's true for a lot of other farm wives, too.

The growing size and complexity of today's farms is pressuring farm wives nationwide to become more involved in the family operation, experts say.

That's where Annie's Project comes in. The program is designed to help farm women become better business partners while juggling the demands of farm, family and community.

Olson was among 138 farm women in North Dakota and Minnesota who participated in Annie's Project this winter. It was the first time the program was offered in either state.

Launched in 2002 in Illinois, the program is available in nine Midwestern states and has helped more than 1,200 farm women, said Bob Wells of the Iowa State University Extension Service. Wells is a farm business management specialist who helps coordinate the program.

The project is expected to expand into several more states next year.

Farming today requires so much information on everything from marketing to chemicals to details of federal farm legislation that one family member seldom can stay current on it all, Ruth Hambleton said.

Hambleton is the founder of Annie's Project and a farm business management and marketing educator for the University of Illinois Extension Service.

Marketing is among the duties increasingly falling to farm wives, Wells said. Women generally make more logical decisions than men about when to sell crops and livestock, he said.

Wells said men too often hold out for unrealistically high prices because they're emotionally attached to the grain or animals they raise.

Women, for their part, often find it awkward to ask questions about farm management when their husband or other men are around, he said.

Project organizers say Annie's Project provides a "safe, nurturing" atmosphere that allows women to feel comfortable.

Deb Hinnah, a Sigourney, Iowa, farm wife, said she appreciated that when she took the course four years ago.

"Annie's Project gave me the confidence to say, 'Hey, I want to be part of this,'" she said.

She now plays a bigger role in farm decisions and has become a leader in several farm groups.

Women play a significant role in operating U.S. farms, according to federal statistics.

Of the 41,629 farm operators in North Dakota, 8,725, or about 21 percent, were women, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's 2002 Census of Agriculture, the most recent survey available.

In Minnesota, 26,526 of 114,218 farm operators, or about 23 percent, were women, according to the USDA survey, which is conducted every five years.

Nationally, 847,832 of 3.1 million farm operators, or about 27 percent, were women.

USDA said the majority of female operators apparently are spouses of the farm's primary operator, or the person responsible for day-to-day decisions.

About one in 10 (11.2 percent) primary operators nationwide were women in 2002. In North Dakota, 2,494, or about 8.1 percent, of primary farm operators were women. In Minnesota, the number was 6,370, or about 7.8 percent.

The Fargo Annie's Project class met on five Thursday evenings in January and February. Fifteen area farm women participated. Their ages ranged widely, as did their backgrounds. Some were new to farming; others grew up on a farm, were longtime farm wives, or both.

The three-hour sessions covered human resources and time management, business plans, women and money, farm management software and marketing.

At the kickoff session, Dean Aakre of North Dakota State University Extension led low-key icebreaking games and personality testing to help the women better understand each other and themselves.

At the final session, George Flaskerud, an NDSU Extension economist and marketing specialist, ran the class through the basics of futures contracts. Futures, or agreements to buy or sell commodities such as grain at a stipulated price and time, can help farmers lock in profitable prices.

Andrea Haverinen of Menahga, Minn., was among the 15 women in the Fargo classes. She grew up in Michigan with no ties to agriculture, but two years ago married a farmer.

Loren Haverinen was raised in a family dairy operation. Now he and his wife have branched out into raising organic hogs.

Andrea Haverinen works full time as a graphic artist, but wants to play a part in running the farm. Annie's Project provides valuable information and resources, she said.

"It was a good program. I'd recommend it," she said.

Olson, who has relatives in northern Minnesota, came to Fargo-Moorhead to study dental hygiene. In 2001 she married Steve Olson, a fourth-generation farmer living and working near Enderlin.

She said she knew nothing about farming but was determined to learn.

"She was always asking questions, and that was great," Steve Olson said.

"I'm glad I took it," Georgia Olson said of the course. "I learned a lot."

Hambleton, who created Annie's Project, is the daughter of Annette Fleck, who spent 50 years learning to be a better farm business partner with her husband. Annie's Project seeks to impart some of those lessons to other farm women. Fleck died in 1997.

The project is funded primarily by federal grants and contributions from farm groups and businesses.

Date: 5/22/06

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