Women in Agriculture (WAgN)

Scholarships and Stipends Available to Vermont Farm Women-Deadline May 5

The Vermont Farm Women's Fund (VFWF) is seeking applications for its first-ever round of scholarships and stipends to help women farmers improve their businesses and/or become more involved in agricultural policy development.

The application deadline is May 5, and grants will be capped at $750 per recipient.

The goal of the fund is to provide women with financial assistance that is not readily available elsewhere. The fund is not geared to beginners, but it is unique in its focus on the particular needs of farm women.

Approximately half of the state’s 6500 farms reported having at least one woman operator, according to the most recent Census of Agriculture. The census also shows that women often operate smaller farms and have lower farm earnings than their male counterparts. Many women also start farming as new entrants, and therefore may have different educational needs than people who come from farming backgrounds.

The fund will make awards in two areas. Farm Business Development awards will provide support for education and travel to help recipients improve some aspect of their business. Leadership Development awards will help women farmers develop skills, access and opportunities to provide leadership in agricultural policy development. Examples include: new product development and research; feasibility studies; education in business management; and registration or tuition fees for leadership programs, seminars or institutes. Additionally, applicants may request funds to help defray associated travel, childcare, and replacement labor.

The Vermont Farm Women's fund was established by Vermont author and photographer Peter Miller, who donated a percentage of the sales of his book Vermont Farm Women, to the fund. The fund has also received generous support from the Key Bank Foundation, Vermont Country Store, National Life, and individual donors.

A panel of Vermont farm women will make award decisions based on applicant need and the strength of the application. The fund anticipates making three to five awards this spring, so it could be competitive. However, a second round of 2008 awards will be made in November.

For more information, call Beth at 802-223-2389 or email wagn@uvm.edu.

This panel of farmers shared with conference participants some insights into what women are looking for in education, technical assistance and strategies for how best to get information to them.

Over 100 individuals from around the country participated in a 2-day conference in Oklahoma City, OK on April 1-2. There were a broad range of topics discussed at the conference. To view some of the presentations and download conference materials go to http://www.agrisk.umn.edu/conference/agenda.aspx?ConfID=5&Output=Sum

The northeast was well represented at the conference with Vermont, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New York and Pennsylvania all present. Apologies to any other states that I've omitted.

When it come to risk management tools many small farms in the northeast find it difficult to qualify for traditional crop insurance programs. The AGR-lite insurance program may offer an opportunity since it is designed for smaller, diversified farm operations.

If you'd like to learn a bit more about it here's an online training that will help you determine whether AGR-lite could help meet your risk management goals.

http://agecon.uwyo.edu/RightRisk/Courses/AGRLiteTraining/htmls/index.htm

http://www.americasaves.org/

If you are a working woman in your 20’s, especially if you’ve recently entered the workforce for the first time, here’s some news that may surprise you. A well-financed secure retirement is your responsibility and the planning starts today.

The truth is that older women today are almost twice as likely as men to be poor. Women live longer, but often end up with less income in retirement. If this trend is going to change then the spending and saving patterns of young women are going to have to change soon.

Here are some common myths about women and money. How many of these have been coloring your thinking?

Myth: There are more women than ever before working so we’ll be OK.

Truth: More women are now in the workforce, but women still earn less than men in almost every occupational classification. On average, women earn 73 cents for every dollar men earn. A typical 25-year-old woman with a college degree will earn about $523,000 less over her lifetime.

Myth: Poverty rates are declining so we won’t have to worry

Truth: Despite the overall decline in poverty rates among older Americans during the last several decades, many older women remain poor – a staggering 87% of the elderly poor are women.

Myth: Social Security amounts will be adjusted to meet my expenses

Truth: Ninety percent of older women receive Social Security and over half of these women would be in poverty if not for Social Security. But Social Security is designed to be a supplemental safety net—it won’t stretch to provide the extra’s that can make retirement so rewarding.

Myth: I’ll have a pension to fall back on

Truth: Because women switch jobs more often, they have a greater chance of forfeiting their pension benefits. 53% of women have no pension coverage. In addition, women are more likely to receive and spend their retirement lump-sum benefits for everyday expenses or for their children’s education leaving nothing for their own needs.

Myth: I’m Young—I have years to work and save

Truth: The average woman will lose over $650,000 in earnings, missed promotions, raises, and benefits as a result of caregiving responsibilities over their lifetime. Young working women are spending more than they earn—almost half of young women ages 21-34 had credit card debt in 2000 which limits their ability to save. 53% of single young women said they were living paycheck to paycheck.

Myth: My Husband’s/Partner's Income Will Make up the Difference

Truth: Today, nearly 60 percent of older American women are either widowed, divorced, separated, or never married.

Almost 1 in 4 women are broke within two months of a husband passing away.

Over 75% of all women are eventually widowed at an average age of 56.

Just over one in four divorced women collect pension benefits from their former spouses. Divorced women with children are more likely to cash out their retirement to pay for family living expenses.

If you want to arrive at retirement with a comfortable financial plan here’s some good advice:

• Open a personal investment account and get financial advice on how to grow your investment.

• Join your company’s retirement plan as soon as you’re eligible and contribute as much as you can. Find out if your employer offers a pension plan and what the requirements are for participation

• Don’t count on a husband, an inheritance or any other source that you aren’t directly in control of.

• Never use your retirement savings as the family piggy bank, and

• If you go through a divorce, get some financial advice based on your new status.

Starting early is key to a financially secure retirement. Start today!

Marketing Value-added Products: Where do I sell all this stuff?

Are you considering adding a value-added product to your agricultural business? Want to learn what makes one value-added product a cash generator and another product a money pit? Join eXtension's Entrepreneurs and Their Communities team for an online workshop on Wednesday, March 26 from 1:30-2:30 (EST). Our topic will be Marketing Value-added Products: Where do I sell all this stuff? Our presenter for this session will be Ginger S. Myers, Regional Extension Marketing Specialist with Maryland Cooperative Extension. Ginger has over 25 years of experience in agri-business and small farm production. She has worked as an agricultural marketing specialist in Maryland since 1999.

Please help us to spread the word about this session. No pre-registration is required and there is no fee to participate. About 10 minutes prior to the start time simply go the Adobe Connect Pro meeting room at http://connect.extension.iastate.edu/ecop/. You will be presented with a login screen that has an "Enter as Guest" option. Enter your first name, last name and state, then click "Enter Room" to join the conference. To hear the audio of the workshop and participate in the Q&A portion of the workshop we will be using a built-in teleconferencing capability of Adobe’s Connect Pro conferencing software. Once you log into the meeting you will be presented with the option to enter your call-back number, your phone will automatically be called. After entering your number you will be automatically called and joined into the audio portion of the Web conference on your phone.

Newcomers to online learning are welcome! We're all learning this together.

It seems like from January through mid-March there is one great conference, workshop and/or association meeting after another. I guess you could spend every weekend learning something and if you add in all the new online courses you could probably make learning a full-time activity during the winter months. And somehow everything seems both affordable and worthwhile. I always learn something at every program I attend.

Probably the best part of all these activities is getting to touch base with friends that I don't see often otherwise. There are about 6-8 folks that I see every year at the NOFA-VT conference -- I don't see them at any other time but that once a year opportunity is enough to fuel our friendship for the entire year in between. Strange...huh.

Anyway, I hope you find time to take advantage of the many opportunities that are still available in this learning season. It's a great time to reflect on changes that you might make in your business...And of course checking in with old friends.

The photo has nothing to do with the topic...I just like it!

If you're starting to think about your taxes you might want to take a look at the IRS website. They have done alot to improve their site and many of their publications are now available for downloading.

The Farmers' Tax Guide is available at http://www.irs.gov/publications/p225/index.html

For small businesses and self-employment, check out http://www.irs.gov/businesses/small/

For a list of all the publications available check out http://www.irs.gov/formspubs/index.html