The Farm Women’s Symposium was developed by Michigan State University in 1992 as a result of the “Alar scare”.  Women were requesting technical information about pesticides to assist them in answering the public’s questions about food safety and farming practices.  That first year, topics ranged from pesticide residues to working with the media.  In 1999, committee members Barb Zahm and Sheryl (Smith) Oswalt worked with Kent County Extension Educator, Rebecca Finneran to develop a formal 501(c)5 non-profit organization.  The program is run by a volunteer committee of farm women living throughout Michigan representing several farm commodities. 

 

The interest in professional development for farm women has continued to expand, and with the help of social media we are now attracting the attendance of participants from outside our home state.  Sponsorship of participants from organizations such as GreenStone Farm Credit Services, Ag. Resource Management, Wilbur Ellis, (just to name a few) has been critical to our continued success.  Donations of cash and auction items from participants and businesses help us generate funds allowing participants to attend at a minimal cost.

 

This conference has a history of lifting participants’ spirits and stimulating their intellects after a long winter, through offering a variety of topics and interaction with university and industry professionals.  The program also hosts entertainers and “ag-vocates” such as Merideth Bernard, Katie Dilse and Farming with Zoe.

 

As market fluctuations, weather reports, anti-ag agendas, consumer concerns, etc. circulate instantly now across the nation and world, we in agriculture, as we become fewer in number, must take advantage of tools such as Farm Women’s Symposium to grow and strengthen our collective voice as we strive to efficiently feed and clothe an expanding population.